Saki's Queen
by Arendt
Summary: Chapter 12 is UP!!! The War begins, but the turtles can't take sides...meanwhile April and Raph must rescue...Shredder!? If you've never read this...now is your time to join this epic adventure of in-character angst!!!!!!
1. Down the Rabbit Hole

Disclaimer: all-hail 80s cartoons immersed in Edwardian Imperialist mayhem...only half of this mine...  
  
  
Saki's Queen  
  
It seemed to the turtles that this was an all-too familiar scene. Shredder stood poised, katana held high, purple cape whipping over his metallic shoulders, guarding the latest odd metallic contraption his twisted ambitions had birthed. The turtles stood in a half-arc around him, weapons raised, tense and waiting for Saki to make the inevitable next move. April stood in the shadows of the hangar in the old warehouse, taping the whole affair. Frankly, she was rather bored. How many times had they played out this whole scenario? Shredder would growl out something about how they wouldn't defeat them this time, the turtles would respond with a brave challenge, Leonardo might step forward and offer a surrender, but Shredder would respond with fury, putting up a fierce, though brief fight before fleeing once again. April sighed. She almost wished something else would happen for once.  
  
"All right, Shred-head," Leonardo began, edging forward cautiously. "I don't think you're getting out this time. We've got you surrounded, your mutants are missing, and that contraption, whatever it is, isn't on."  
  
"Ha! I've defeated you fools alone before, and I intend to do it again," Shredder growled. April could see his dark eyes narrow and his muscles tense in the dim light, readying himself for battle.  
  
"Dudes, I don't feel like this tonight," Mike said, beginning to twirl his nun chucks.   
"I hear ya, bro," said Don. "But, alas, we never have a choice with this guy."  
Raphael said nothing, his face simply setting itself with anger, allowing the rage to claim his body and feed off its strength.  
  
For a moment, everyone paused, and April actually heard her heart pattering a bit, in the tension.  
  
With a cry, Shredder lunged forward, simultaneously swinging his sword to the right while viscously swiping his body armor to the left, catching Mike's shoulder with the swipe. His sword clanked against Leonardo's ready blade, and while he held those two together he kicked out with a bladed leg at Don's advance. In a flash he had deflected one of Raph's sai with the same blade he had cut Mike. April was a trifle riveted by the scene. It wasn't everyday she got to film Shredder taking on all the turtles on his own. There was an odd beauty to it. When those mutant henchman were around, Shredder quickly, and perhaps wisely, retreated to fight another day. Yet, one on one, he could more than easily hold his own against the turtles. As she watched the blur of purple and silver at the center of the turtle's aggressions, she had to admire, as the turtles often did grudgingly, his finely tuned skills.  
  
But, one on four was inevitably tiring, even for a spirited ninja master. One had to both attack and defend, deploying multiple moves at once, and it was clear, after about five minutes, that Shredder was beginning to falter. The turtles were bruised and scratched, but young and energetic, and could probably keep this up for an hour, by fighting in waves. But Shredder could get no rest from constant onslaught, and now he, too, was receiving cuts and bruises. In a double offensive, Mike and Leo were able to get close to his body and while Mike wrapped his chuks around Shredder's wrist, pulling it back, Leo came in hard at his chest. Shredder deflected the blow initially, but stumbled, and Leo got his sword in for a thrust that was a little deeper than even he initially had probably hoped. The sword sunk a few inches into Shredder's side. He groaned loudly and with a roar of rage threw off the two attacking turtles with one heave.  
  
April was breathless. She wanted a good fight and she was certainly getting one. Even better, the turtles were winning and Shredder actually seemed cornered for once. They may actually capture him. She stepped out of the shadows and closer to the action.  
  
Shredder stood heaving, his sword drooping in his hand until the tip clanked on the metal ground. He held his side hard, and blood could be seen oozing out between his fingers. He looked around at the turtles, his eyes a bit glassy, and seemed to be looking for a way to retreat from this losing battle.  
  
The turtles were stepping closer to him, weapons raised. "Come on, Shredder," Leonardo coaxed. "You're beat this time...just lay your sword on the ground..."  
  
Shredder backed up a step, and raised his blade again, although now it was shaking a bit in his weakened grip.  
  
Don sighed. "Come on, give it up. Its not like we ENJOY kicking your ass."  
"Dude," said Mike. "That, is a total lie. This is the best time I've had in months."  
"Laugh, Turtles," Shredder said, his voice cracking a little. "Laugh. I don't see you finishing this fight."  
"I'll finish it, gladly..." Raph hissed and stepped forward.  
  
Leo stopped him with a raised hand and for a moment the two brothers glared at each other. Leo tried again. "Shredder, there's no need to be dramatic...just surrender, there's no need, er," he glanced warily at Shredder's blood that ran thick down his blade, "to FINISH it, per say."  
  
"Ha!" Shredder barked, pulling himself up, and gathering himself together again. "Fight or let me leave!"   
  
He began to advance but was halted by a cry. Raph, unable to restrain his hand for another moment, lurched forward and hurled his sai with violence at Shredder. Before Shredder could defend himself, one lodged deep in his shoulder. He managed to deflect the other, and as the turtles closed in, it lodged itself in the great, metal contraption that had loomed over the entire battle. With a whoosh and a blast of air it roared to life, panels illuminated, and then, with a sound amounting to thunder-crack in one's own heart, it emitted a flash of horrible brightness that swept over Shredder, the turtles, and April.  
  
Then it went dark and again the warehouse was silent. In fact, it was empty. The only signs of battle were some blood and half a splintered bo lying on the ground. April's camera lay on its side, silently filming the darkness.  
  
  
II.  
April was first aware of warmth, and the smell of grass and leaves. A hot and heavy smell, like being in a tropical conservatory in the summer, where the air is so steamy it lays upon you like a blanket.  
  
"April?"   
  
She opened her eyes and saw a dark silhouette in the bright sunlight. She sat up and found herself lying in lush foliage beneath a drooping green canopy where here and there fierce sunlight punched through the trees. "Where are we, Mikey?"  
  
"Not a clue, chica." he said, smirking a little.  
  
The other turtles were standing nearby, apparently having gotten their senses back much quicker. She hoisted herself up, brushing the leaves off her jumpsuit and approached them.   
  
"Good to see you're ok," Leo said, looking relieved.  
  
"Fine. And you all?"  
  
"Great," said Raph irritably, smacking a mosquito.  
  
"Hey," April said. "Where's Shredder?"  
  
They pointed to the ground, and there, sunk into the leaves, lay Shredder on his back, apparently unconscious. The wound in his side was still oozing blood, and the sai still stuck up and out from his shoulder where it lodged deeply.  
  
"Jesus, Raph." she said. "That was quite a hit."  
  
"That's what I was just saying," Leo said, crossing his arms. "That wasn't just a good hit, it was a hit to kill."  
  
"Bullshit," Raph muttered. "I knew he'd deflect it."  
  
"You didn't know..." Leo stepped forward, but Don stepped between them.   
  
"Hello?" Don said impatiently. "Standing in tropical jungle here. Anybody else a little curious about it? I know I AM."  
  
Leo and Raph stepped apart, although Raph crossed his arms and stepped away from the group. Don continued, "That blast obviously transported us somewhere..."  
  
"Are we in Brazil, or what?" Mike asked.  
  
"Hardly," Don said, gesturing at the trees. "I've never seen any plant-life like this on earth..."  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Leo asked, now looking a little alarmed.  
  
"Well," Don said. "When we were fighting, I was stealing glances at Shed-head's latest science project. I guessed it to be some sort of dimensional-portal generator, and by the looks of things, it appears I was correct." He whipped out his dimensional positioning device he had picked up in one of their extra-dimensional adventures. "Well, I'm certainly right that we're no longer in our universe. But...this place doesn't seem to be charted."  
  
"That's freaking great," Raph said. "How the hell are we supposed to get home?!" He punctuated his remark by giving Shredder's prone figure a slight kick. Leo started to say something but Don held up his hand. "It's actually not that bad...while I can't exactly pinpoint our location, its clear here that the portal is still open..."  
  
"Open?" Mike said looking around. "Where?"  
  
"Not here," Don sighed. "One effect of the blast was not only to move us dimensionally, but geographically. Its...let me see..." He began to walk toward a grove of trees that seemed to border a clearing, as intense light shone behind them. The group followed him, April in a daze, as he pressed through the trees. They emerged, not in a clearing, but on the edge of a grand and dizzyingly high plateau that looked off across jungle-choked valleys and hills that undulated at least twenty miles into the distance where they terminated in a dark, fantastically high mountains. The group gasped and Don sighed. "Well, its about eighteen miles, that way," and he pointed toward the dark mountains across the vast low valleys.  
  
"You've got to be joking." Raph murmured, but he didn't sound angry any more.  
  
"Dudes!" Mike said, "Look at that!" To what, for them, would be the West at a distance of about six miles, a grand, white city arose from the jungle, culminated by an impossibly tall, thin tower that rose high into the sky.  
  
"Holy Shit." Raph said.  
  
Mike swallowed. "Who do you suppose lives there?"  
  
Don snapped his DPD closed. "If our past experiences have taught us nothing, at least it has taught us to avoid locals at all costs."  
  
"Amen to that." Leo said.  
  
Behind them, in the trees, they heard a rustle and groan, making them all jump.  
  
Mike sighed. "What do we do with Shred-head? I mean, its his fault we're here. Can't we just leave him?"  
  
Leo glared at his brothers. "Afraid not. And no thanks to Raph, we've got to fix him up first before we can move him." Leo headed back into the trees.  
  
"Me?" Raph said, following. "YOU stabbed him!"  
  
Don and Mike smiled weakly at April. "You do'n ok?" Don asked.  
  
"Sure." April said. "Most fun I've had in ages."  
  
III.  
April watched in a kind of curiosity that she tried to disguise as Don attended to Shredder. Raph had yanked all his body armor off roughly and tossed them over the edge of the cliff. Now he was patting down his legs and extracting all kinds of small weapons from the folds in the clothes. "Jesus," Raph said, extracting another kind of small butter-fly knife from Shredder's trousers. "Does he have a whole freaking arsenal up his skirt?"  
  
Don was finishing wrapping the wound on Saki's shoulder, having tightly bound and washed the wound in his side. "Well, its not great," Don said, reaching for some rope and rolling Shredder onto his side. "But it'll have to do to for the going on with." He pulled Shredder's hands behind his back and bound them tightly. Shredder moaned quietly and then lay still. They all stood around him, April hanging back a little.  
  
"Well," Leo said. "We can't carry him."  
  
Suddenly Raph reached down and yanked Saki's steel helmet off, letting his head thud on the turf. April peered closely at the face she only got to see once in a great while, and even then it was usually contorted with rage or passion. He looked so much younger, especially with the purple bruises on his smooth skin. With his face relaxed, he looked asleep, and the way his dark hair swept over his brow was almost handsome. April had to tell herself that was a BIG almost.  
  
Raph grunted, leaned over and banged his sai on the helmet loudly in Saki's ear. "Wake up, ass hole! Wake up!" The clanking was ear-shattering and hundreds of birds shot up from the brush. Shredder's eyes fluttered and the turtles tensed. His eyes lazily roved around at brush level, and then, like a flash, he sat up.  
  
Before the turtles could even move to restrain him, he groaned and fell back down again. "Where am I? What have you done?" he growled breathlessly from the ground.  
  
"What did WE do to you?" Raph yelled.  
  
Leo sighed. "Look, your contraption went off and we've been zapped here to this dimension. There's a portal open, but we've got to walk to it. Can you walk?"  
  
Shredder slowly sat up again, this time looking around at the trees, his dark eyes traveling with contempt over the turtle's faces and then onto April's, where it lingered a moment, without expression. "I demand you untie me."  
  
"Not a chance." Leo said.  
  
"My wound," he said, as if he couldn't bare to mention it. "Is being pulled."  
  
His eyes were watering a little, but he set his face in determination. "Forget it," Leo said and then moving forward Don and him hoisted Shredder to his feet, where he shakily stood, swaying a little. April took a step back. He really towered over the turtles when she was up this close. His chest heaved as he took a breath in of pain. "I demand that you..."  
  
"Shut the fuck up, tin-head," Raph stepped forward. "I'm ready to bury one of these in your neck this time..." He put a sai up to Shredder's throat.   
  
"Boys," Leo said. "Quit it. Saki, you're coming with us, tied up, and quiet. Raph, leave him alone. But, Saki, if you misbehave, I'll stop telling Raph to step down. Now, let's go. Eighteen miles in a jungle is a long way."  
  
Don started off through the trees, his DPD in his hand. Mike pushed Shredder forward, and with a turtle on each side and one behind, he silently began to limp. April walked next to Mike, stealing a glance every one in a while at Shredder's face. Normally, it was turned toward the ground, a deep frown on his lips, eyes transfixed and she imagined he was plotting a way to escape. Once, though, when she glanced over, he looked right up at her, and his expression was completely opaque. She held his eyes for a moment, getting a slight thrill about holding the gaze of such a dangerous criminal, then glanced away, feeling her cheek burn.  
  
They continued to walk into the tawny darkness, the sunset slicing across the hill and bathing the eerie white city in pink light some miles to the west. Moving cautiously in the falling dark, the two humans and four turtles disappeared in the brush. 


	2. Malpractice

Chapter 2  
  
  
Raphael sat in the firelight wrapping a nasty gash in his upper arm, glaring across the fire and through his companions to where Shredder sat bound tightly to a tree in the darkness. It had been an interesting afternoon.  
  
The night before they had not gotten very far in the thick darkness that had descended rapidly in the jungle and made camp early. Shredder had been fairly passive, refusing to eat what little foliage the turtles determined was edible and being generally belligerent, but submitting to being tied to a tree where he promptly fell asleep. Raphael was convinced it was a ploy and refused to sleep, keeping watch with a sai ready. But even he fell asleep after a while. Only April stayed awake late into the night while all the combatants slept heavily. She lay on her side close to the dying fire, examining the face of her sleeping companions. The turtles' faces were smooth and green and infinitely innocent in their sleep. She felt secure, even in this strange world, surrounded by her friends. What was making her nervous was not the strange unearthly calls of unseen creatures echoing through the trees, but the man tied to a tree just outside the circle of light. He appeared to be asleep too. She could just see the outline of chest rising and falling rhythmically, and see his profile slumped forward. She had to admit she was with Raphael on this one. She didn't trust Saki for a minute, and lay tensely expecting him to leap up at any moment and slaughter them all. But eventually she, too, fell asleep.  
  
The next morning they set off in the baking heat of a jungle sun. They had reached the foot of the mountain and started off across a flat, steamy jungle plain. With the flatness, the mountains in the distance that marked their destination, and the strange white city fell away from view. All they could see was the rubbery greenness of oily tropical leaves and ropey vines flowing over impossibly tall, thick-trunked trees. They had eaten some berries in the morning, Shredder again refusing to eat, but had yet to find some water. They trudged along blearily in the heat, sweat glistening on the turtle's domed heads.   
  
"You doing ok, April?" Don asked, coming up beside her.  
  
She brushed wet strand of hair out of her face, "I'm pretty thirsty."  
  
"Ditto," said Mike.  
  
"There's got to be some sort of river in this valley," Don insisted. "These hills have to drain somewhere, and its too damp in this jungle not to have any water."  
  
"Maybe they don't have water here," Raphael suggested.  
  
At this remark, Shredder snorted. Everyone turned to look at him as they walked. His face was as flushed as April's and slick with sweat. He sneered down at Raphael, but continued to walk forward. Raphael stopped. "You think that's funny dumb ass?"  
  
"Raphael..." Leonardo warned, urging Raphael to continue walking.  
  
But Shredder stopped too, chest heaving, straining his bound hands, and glared down at Raphael. "I do, turtle. I found your remark quite entertaining."  
  
"Really?" Raphael said. "Enlighten me. There could be no water here. You don't know anything about this world...or do you?"  
  
Shredder pursed his lips. "You simply revealed your profound ignorance of dimensional travel. The vegetation here has obviously progressed along the same evolutionary track as earth's and is, as far as I can tell, carbon based. Chemistry doesn't change dimension to dimension. There is water here. But I couldn't expect your primeval little acorn of a brain to have deduced that."  
  
Raphael's body literally swelled with rage and he started toward Saki when the world seemed to settle the debate for them. The breeze that had been almost inaudibly whooshing through the trees all morning died down a bit, and beneath that stratum of sound, was the gurgle of water somewhere near.  
  
Raphael seemed to forget his anger and start instinctually toward the sound. Even Shredder couldn't suppress his eagerness as he followed through the trees. The group emerged on the soft sandy bank of wide, shallow sparkling river. Momentarily loosing their reason everyone plunged forward, fell on their knees and drank from the cool water. April was only mildly shocked when she lifted her head after taking in a first, icy drink and saw that Shredder knelt next to her, knees planted wide apart to steady himself with his arms behind his back. She watched out of the corner of his eye as he grimaced, leaning over pulling at his wounds. Then his lips brushed the water and his face relaxed into something like ecstasy. He put his whole head under and came up with a splash, his black hair plastering his face. His eyes drifted to April and she realized with some alarm that she had been staring. She edged away from him and continued to drink.  
  
When they had drunk their fill, they stood and stretched in the sun. Shredder was still kneeling and drinking. Raphael narrowed his eyes and walked over, giving his legs a little kick, "Come on tin-grin."  
  
Like a flash Shredder's left leg swept out and tripped Raphael into the water. Before the turtles could react, he rolled onto his back and managed to slip his bound hands under his feet to the front and leapt up. Leo and Don started forward, but even with his hands tied, he managed to do a leaping kick which leveled them both. April stepped backward and screamed as he came at her, but she was too slow. In a moment he was behind her. Shredder threw his arms over her head and brought them around her, pulling her tight against his chest.  
  
Raphael struggled out of the water with a roar of rage and sais drawn. "Let her go, Shredder!"  
  
Shredder contracted his arms, squeezing April's chest and she cried out. The four turtles stopped feet away. "Lay down your weapons or I'll crush her ribs."  
  
The turtles hesitated. April could hear Shredder's heart thudding in her ear and felt his muscles quivering around her. She was frightened, but something in the way his breathing wheezed told her he wasn't as strong as usual. She felt he was putting on a bit of performance. Still...looking Leonardo in the eye she nodded slightly and winked.  
  
"Shredder, if you harm a hair on her head..." Mike growled as they all laid their weapons down.  
  
"Back away!" Shredder ordered and then shuffled forward, pushing April to where the weapons lay on the ground. As they walked, she could hear his cracking voice in her ear. "Woman, you will pick up the blade and cut my bonds. If you so much as try to nick me, I'll crack your bones. Do you understand?"  
  
April didn't say anything, but was gaining confidence. She could feel his arms trembling with exertion just from this slight effort. Shredder knelt and bent forward so she could grab the blade, and as he did so, he couldn't contain a gasp of pain. They stood and as they were backing up, April began to saw at the vines. But she could hear Shredder panting and gave the turtles a look which they motionlessly acknowledged.  
  
She continued her sawing for another few seconds, and then, after a quick calculation, brought her elbow with all her might down hard on Shredder's stab wound in his side. Shredder cried out, and as she thought, he doubled over and released his hold on her. She slipped out underneath his slick arms just as the turtles surrounded him. Don brought his bo down hard on the back of Saki's neck and he went down with a kind of gurgley moan. He lay still in the sand, and blood blossomed through his bandage again.  
  
Raphael was shaking with anger. "Let's just roll him into the river now and be done with it."  
  
April was leaning on Mike's shoulder and had to admit she almost agreed. Leo sighed, "As much as I'd like to, we can't just..."  
  
"Oh yeah?" Raph growled. "Well maybe in THIS world killing evil, murderous bastards who just tried to kill April is actually considered an ok thing."  
  
Leo just shook his head and walked over to the water to drink some more. The rest of the turtles gave each other a look that quietly voiced dissent but shrugged and went to drink.  
  
Raphael muttered something inaudible under his breath and reached down grabbing the unconscious Saki by the shoulders. He drug him to the river and thrust his head into the water. "Wake up, you son of a bitch, we're moving on!" He pulled his head up and then dunked it again, holding it under water. The turtles just watched and didn't comment. Suddenly Saki forced his head above water with a gasp, eyes blinking, face pale. Raphael released his head with a slap and walked off to brood.  
  
The rest of the day they moved slowly and cautiously, eyeing Saki carefully. Donatello had retied his arms extra tight, despite his gasping protests. The bandage on his side was soaked with blood, but Don didn't move to fix it, and no one suggested that he do it. It was clear Saki wasn't doing so well. Between the concussion that morning and the wound that was bleeding freely and not being redressed, his body was beginning to flag under the injuries. April watched out of the corner of her eye as he flinched every couple steps, and she could hear his irregular breathing. Every time he slowed Mike gave him a push and he stumbled, but remained silent and impassive. April got the impression that Shredder had a become a problem that might go away on its own...  
  
That night they sat around the fire and Raphael dressed the scratch he received in his tumble into the river. "That ugly son of a..."  
  
"Let it go," Leo said glancing to the shadows where Shredder sat tied.  
  
"No, he's just going to do it again tomorrow. I say, just a quick flick of the sai, and problem solved..."  
  
April listened and folded her arms over her chest with a sigh.   
  
Don shook his head. "Just because Splinter isn't with us, doesn't mean we revert to being barbarians."  
  
"Barbarians!" Raph hissed. "Look, capital punishment is perfectly legal and he's earned it about thirty times over and then some."  
  
April decided to venture an observation, "He's pretty sick..."  
  
All the turtles gazed at her as if she said something that should never have been spoken aloud. "Looks fine to me," Leo said slowly.  
  
"Sure," said Don, tilting his head a little.  
  
April looked from face to face a little surprised. So this was how they were going to do it? Let him die from fever or blood loss? "I'm surprised at you guys..." she said a little chidingly.  
  
Leo sighed. "I won't kill him. But there's no need to play doctor, either."  
  
The rest of the turtles were silent. April was a little shocked and a little amused. The turtles couldn't stand to break their oath not to take life, but would do little to stop it from trickling away. She gave them all a bit of a glare and clucked her tongue.  
  
"Well," she said standing. "I'm not going to be a party to death-by-malpractice. I'm going to see if Mr. Saki is interested in eating some berries." The turtles looked a little sheepish.  
  
"Don't go near him April," Mike began.  
  
"Oh, I'll just stand back and toss," April said. And grabbed some of the tart, plump berries they had foraged that evening.   
  
She stepped out of the light of the fire to where Saki sat bound by a thick tangle of vines to a tree. His head drooped on his chest and as she neared some of her former amusement fled. She could hear him wheezing, and he lifted his head slowly. He really did look bad. She knelt and scooted up near him. "Shredder? Do you want to eat?"  
  
She could see his eyes glittering in the firelight. "No." he said gruffly.  
  
"Come on," she urged softly. "They don't really care if you hunger strike. Fight another day and all that."   
  
His face remained impassive but his eyes stayed on her. She looked right back and tried to read the expression on his face. "Come on," and she moved to toss a berry as his mouth but stopped under his gaze.  
  
Without really thinking what she was doing, she leaned in and offered a berry to him. He looked at the berry kind of warily, then his eyes traveled up April's body to her eyes again. She realized she was holding her breath and leaned in further to place the berry on his lips just as they parted to accept it. She drew her arm back quickly and scooted away.  
  
He chewed the berry slowly, his eyes closed. After a few moments, he opened his eyes. "Miss O'Neil," he said quietly. "I have to...have to get away..."  
  
April shook her head, stood up and walked away stiffly without looking back. Although, as she was walking back to the fire she realized that his request was based in the reality of life and death. 


	3. Ancha and the Paelo

Chapter 3  
  
They awoke early and set off into the jungle, regrettably leaving the cool waters of the stream behind. Michelangelo and Leonardo chatted amiably with April and forged ahead through the brush, trying to brush off the problems and anxieties of the day before. Donatello and Raphael brought up the rear, one on either side of Shredder. Donatello was frowning at his Dimensional Positioning Device. Shredder had been silent all morning, brooding and keeping any complaints about his injuries to himself, and walking with a strained impatience. Now, he turned and looked at Donatello with interest.  
  
"You seem confused, Turtle."  
  
Everyone's eyes snapped to the tall figure in gray. "I wouldn't say confused," returned Don warily.  
  
"You are concerned about the portal," Shredder said lightly, but with some strained huskiness. "You should be."  
  
By now everyone had stopped and turned to look at the bound ninja standing in their midst. "What are you talking about, Saki?" asked Leonardo, crossing his arms. Leo had just about had it with Shredder, and was ready to acquiesce to his brothers and just leave him tied to a tree somewhere in the hot, tropical sun.  
  
"Your brother is concerned over something, Leonardo. Why don't you ask him?" Shredder countered. His face was slick, but pale and his brown eyes narrowed at his arch enemy. He squared his shoulders and leaned back, as if he wasn't going anywhere until this latest provocation was milked for all its worth.  
  
"Saki, if you don't shut your..." began Raphael when Don cut him off. "There is something wrong."  
  
Everyone looked at Donatello with surprise and he sighed. "I was debating over whether to say anything, since I hoped we'd arrive at the portal tonight. But, the fact is, I'm getting some extremely odd readings from the portal."  
  
"What do you mean by odd?" asked Mike.  
  
"Well, according to the DPD, it seems to be shifting in position, just slightly. That wouldn't be that big of a deal, but its reading, what the DPD perceives it to be, is also changing."  
  
"What does that mean, exactly?" said April, getting a sinking feeling. Something about Shredder's silence had bothered her today, and she wondered if she had justification. The evening before when he all but asked for her help there had been sense of desperation about him. Today, while he appeared weaker, his frame trembling just a little, his face was set in a kind of determination she didn't like.  
  
"Well," said Don, twisting some controls on the DPD. "It no longer is being sensed as a portal. The readings indicate that it isn't as stable. It reads more like a tear."  
  
Shredder snorted, his lips turning up in a bit of a suppressed smirk.  
  
Donatello snapped the DPD shut, and looked at Shredder with a kind of growing dread. "That wasn't a portal device was it?"  
  
All the turtles felt a tingly chill run through their bodies. Shredder looked away and scanned the horizon impatiently. Raphael was seething, "I told you he was up to something!"  
  
Leonardo started forward with a growl of rage, not being able to remain calm any longer. "What do you know, Saki? What was this device of yours?"  
  
Shredder's eyes traveled lazily back to Leonardo and his eyes flashed. "Untie me, and I'll consider telling you."  
  
Raphael drew his sais but Leo actually beat him to it. He swung at Shredder and connected with his jaw, causing him to crumple to the ground. "We will not be black-mailed by you..." The turtles closed in on Saki's sprawled figure, and April stood back. She could see the rage in their eyes at being toyed with by Shredder even while he was their prisoner, and wondered if this time they would actually finish him off. But how would they get home then? "Guys," she began, trying to step forward and somehow intervene when something happened that confused the entire group briefly, before they all cried out in pain.  
  
Out of nowhere, two dozen or so arrows shot from the surrounding brush. They were short and thin as straw, but a couple lodged deeply in everyone's legs and arms, including Shredder, who rolled over on his knees and crouched to protect himself. April cried out and pulled at the little arrows, one in her forearm and one in her thigh. The turtles yanked out the little arrows as well and spun around toward the brush, weapons ready.  
  
"What the hell's going on?" said Ralph, wincing in pain.  
  
Don examined the end of one of the slim needle-like things that he had pulled from an arm and frowned. "Poison..."  
  
April held her hand over her wound and kept her breath stuck in her chest.  
  
For a moment only the breeze filtered through the broad-leafed foliage, and then, all at once, twenty or so women stepped out of the brush, surrounding the group. They were tall, well-muscled but still slim and infinitely feminine. They wore white shifts that flowed and leather straps across their chest with quivers on their backs, filled with the tiny poisoned arrows. Their skin was bronze, and their smooth, womanly faces held bright blue eyes. In short, they were beautiful.  
  
One, taller than the rest, with long black, silky hair stepped forward. She wore a golden amulet low on her chest and had thick gold bands encircling her upper arms, giving her a sense of authority. "Who are you?" she asked, her voice rich and moving, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.  
  
"Talk about shoot first and ask questions later..." muttered Mike.  
  
"We are accidental travelers in your land," Leonardo said. "We mean you no harm, and wish to leave peacefully."  
  
The woman barked a laugh and few of the other women twittered with amusement.  
  
"These arrows," Don began. "Were they poisoned?"  
  
The woman smiled grimly, and was about to answer when suddenly her eyes widened. There were gasps from the other women around the circles. All of them stepped back as if frightened, a few dropping their spears or bows and putting their small hands up to their lips. The raven-haired leader put her hand to her heart caught her breath in amazement.  
  
At first the turtles had no idea what had happened, but then they heard a rustle behind them, and realized that Shredder had stumbled to his feet. Leo turned to look. He stood shakily, anger burning in his eyes. He still had two of the little poison darts sticking from his chest, being unable to pull them out due to his bound hands. Even though he slumped, he still towered over the turtles, and the attacking women had a good view of him all the way around.  
  
"Good Goddess," whispered the leader. "Paelo! And so soon!"  
  
Shredder seemed to notice his surroundings for the first time, the circle of gaping, armed, and beautiful women all cowering at the sight of him. He looked puzzled and annoyed and turned to face the leader who had spoken.  
  
She seemed to have regained some of her composure, and in fact, as the shock faded, a look of calculation and interest flowed onto her face. She swallowed and stood straight again. "Comrades! Stand strong! Listen to me, Ancha, your leader. Although this, indeed, is a Paelo, we will not forget our sacred duty when Fate has chosen to put such an important task at our feet!" The woman around the circle seemed to gain some composure. "Now, give the tawdi the fixing potion."  
  
Before the turtles knew what was happening, some of the women reached into their garments and pulled out small violet vials filled with a liquid. "It is an antidote," Ancha said as she tossed one at Leonardo. April and all the turtles caught one. "Drink it and the poison will dissolve in your veins."  
  
April and the turtles looked at one another. "I don't think we have a choice," Don said. "I'm certain those darts were tipped with poison, so this stuff can't be any worse." He unscrewed his little vial and drank. All the turtles did. April, whose heart had begun to pound, and vision blur with the poison, gulped hers down and immediately felt a cooling rush flow through her veins. In just a few seconds, she felt better than ever and her vision sharpened.  
  
The turtles all sighed and lowered their weapons.  
  
"Thank you," said Leo. "We are sorry for intruding..." He trailed off because he realized the leader, Ancha, was paying him no attention. She was gazing over his head to Shredder.  
  
"Tawdi...we must not forget your beautiful Paelo." She stepped forward with another violet vial in her hand and the turtles parted, warily allowing her to approach the spot where Shredder stood, now visibly starting to tremble with the poison. April watched with fascination as this impressive warrior woman stepped right up to Saki. She was tall and was almost able to look the ninja directly in the eye. His face was set with stony anger and he pulled himself up to full height as she glided up to him.  
  
She paused, and looking at his chest, clucked her tongue. "Oh, what a crime we've committed, Paelo." She glanced briefly at April who, until now, she had paid little attention. "I apologize. You do not mind if I mend the damage?"  
  
April didn't know what to say. Why was she asking her? Ancha reached up and gently pulled each poison dart out of Shredder's chest. He flinched, but his eyes flashed with anger as thin rivulets of blood flowed down his gray garment. "I don't know who you think you are..."  
  
Ancha's face lit with delight as she dropped the darts to the ground. "It speaks! And what a voice! Oh, it will take much for you to trade it, I expect!" Again she looked at April with what amounted to a knowing smile and turned back to Saki. "Now, you too, will drink the fixing potion..." She lifted the vial to his lips. Shredder frowned, but seemed to see the sense in this action, as he no doubt felt the burning from within caused by the poison racing through his veins. He opened his lips slightly, and Ancha tilted the vial. He gulped it down as Ancha's face contracted into fascination, her eyes darting from Saki's face, to his neck, and finally, to the wounds on his side and shoulder. Saki sighed and took a step back from her once he had finished off the potion.  
  
She frowned slightly. "Truly," she began, and with a glance, April was aware that Ancha was again addressing her in a familiar fashion. "Paelo must be plentiful in your land if you treat this one thus." She reached out a hand and lightly brushed the badly wrapped, and bled-through wound on Shredder's eyes. His eyes narrowed and he began to shake with a kind of rage. The turtles tensed as they realized he was going to react somehow. Ancha leaned in close, examining the wound. "Ah, but it is quite injured, and ill besides. I am sure it is your want to preserve its health..." She did not finish because Shredder's leg flashed out and knocked Ancha down hard on the ground.   
  
The turtles sprang forward while the circle of women gasped in amazement, but Ancha stopped all activity with a laugh that shook her entire frame. She sprawled, half upon her arms, almost sexily, looking up to where Shredder seethed with rage at this bizarre treatment from so presumptuous a woman.  
  
Ancha could barely talk through her laughter. "What a Paelo! Good Goddess! I dare say it just struck me!" Some of the women around the group twittered with appreciation. "I say, my fortune continues to improve upon itself!" She now pulled herself up to her knees, but scooted away to be a safe distance away from Saki, who was almost shaking with rage at this bizarre reaction to his attack. Ancha paused on her knees, and now lowered her voice, looking at Saki with a kind of reverence. "Oh," she almost whispered. "If I give the Queen such a prize, such a Paelo as has not been seen in millennia, perhaps, perhaps I too will share in the finding, and in its exquisite pleasures..."  
  
This was just too much. "I demand," growled Saki. "to know what you are blubbering on about, you half-witted Amazon! If I am so important, untie me at once and behold the true extent of my powers!" His eyes flashed and his muscles quivered as he strained at his bonds.  
  
Ancha's eyes widened, and the women around the circle sunk back half a step. "Incredible..." she murmured, and her eyes shone with a kind of greed.  
  
Suddenly she leapt up, snapping her fingers. "A mercer." A short, tawny-haired woman stepped forward and offered a yellow arrow to Ancha, who swiftly strung it on her long, flexible bow. Before anyone could protest, she leveled it squarely at Shredder and fired. Although he was weak, he ducked, managing to dodge it. "Curse you, wench!" he muttered, stumbling. But, in a split second she had strung another and shot it. It lodged in Shredder's shoulder, near the muscle of his throat. He cried out, stumbling, then his eyes went glazed, and he fell over heavily into the dirt and lay still.  
  
Raphael was momentarily excited, "Is he dead?" He was mildly hoping this was some kind of trophy culture, and now the women would proceed to skin and stuff Saki.  
  
Ancha looked at Raphael curiously. "Truly, Paelo must be plenty in your paradise of a world for you to ask such a thing. It was a dart of healing-sleep. It will sleep for some time, perhaps a day, and when it awakes its wounds will heal and its sickness will depart." The rest of the women now crept forward, uttering soft gasps of amazement and surprise as they gazed at Shredder, who lay on his back. One of the women started to reach down to touch his sleeping face, but with a second thought and a look of guilt, she glanced at April and walked away.  
  
Ancha now straightened her shoulders and walked toward April. She was almost five inches taller than her, and seemed to grow larger with each step. Having drawn up close, she bowed curtly. "Madame, I most humbly entreat apologies for this confusion. I trust you were bound with your Paelo and bearers for another land? Certainly you hoped to reap a fortune for this specimen?" Ancha's formality softened into a slight smile. "But, I think, by merely looking at you, that perhaps you were utilizing it for your own self?"  
  
April blushed crimson at what she thought was meant by this suggestion. She started to protest, but Donatello, who had been following the speeches of this entire encounter with great attention, motioned for April to play along with Ancha's assumption. "Um," she stuttered, feeling heat wind through her body, as she glanced down at Saki's still form. "Yes...I thought I might keep him..."  
  
Ancha's eyes widened with delight, and her voice dropped yet another octave. "Oh, I knew you'd tasted its pleasures...I could tell by your health, your vitality...but forgive me...are you a Queen yourself to have such a prize?"  
  
"Not a Queen..."  
  
"But to have such a thing as a Paelo to enjoy..."  
  
"We have many from where I come..." April had deduced that Paelo did not mean evil ninja, or some other particular designation. She was almost certain, as were all the turtles who could barely fathom it, that Paolo simply meant "man."  
  
Ancha's eyes bulged with wonder, but she nodded in understanding. "Seeing its bruises and injuries, and its bindings, I knew at once that you came from a land of great riches, with several of these creatures, unlike our own, so barren and mortal in its luxuries. I am also pleased to know that it is a commodity that you can replace."   
  
Here, Ancha drew herself up to full height, and motioned for her troops to stand ready. Her voice took on the tones of declaration as she said, "For, other-worlder and tawdi, know that in this land, a Paelo comes but once every few centuries, and its pleasures are reserved for our mighty and ancient Queen alone. It is for her to consume and for her to distribute among her loyal. We are not thieves, dweller-of-paradise, and will negotiate with you for the prize, but you must know that you have been the unwitting bearer of a Holy Thing sent from the Goddess and whatever purpose brought you hither is but the veil tossed over reality for Her Holy purpose. Know then that you have been the bearer of the Holy Paelo that will unite with our Queen, and you will be feted as such and remembered always in our annals. Further, know that when the Queen is finished with the Paelo, and is with child, she will pass it on to her high court to reap children as well. And, in keeping with our most ancient customs, after a period of nine-months, when the Paelo has served its duty as ordained by the most Holy Goddess, the Queen will give birth. At such time, the Paelo's throat will be slit, and the child, the new Princess of our Kingdom, will be baptized in a drop of its blood."  
  
The women around the circle placed their hands on their hearts and swooned at this oration, murmuring what sounded like prayers, and a glaze of tears settled in Ancha's eyes.  
  
The turtles and April glanced at each other in shocked silence. Raphael smirked a little, then whispered, "Although I love the end result, its much too nice a death for old Shred-head!" He nudged Don in the side, and pointed at the gorgeous women who were wiping their eyes and sighing around them.  
  
Leonardo frowned. "This isn't going to work. Just about the last thing Shredder has ever been interested in is women! He'd kill them just as soon as look at them!"  
  
Mike shrugged. "Dude, you are right. He'd make tofu-salad from these chicks!"  
  
Ancha reached out and grasped April's hands in a kind of gratitude, but April found her eyes drifting to the ground where Saki lay. Did no one hear the part where they were going to slit his throat? Why did the idea of this bother her so much?  
  
  
To Be Continued........! 


	4. The Priestess

Thank you for the reviews, they are greatly appreciated!  
  
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Chapter 4   
  
The turtles and April lounged on the grass in a circle, a little a part from the warrior women who had poisoned and cured them all in a matter of minutes. A strange sight presented itself where the women were gathered. They surrounded Shredder, who still slept soundly on the green grass, flat on his back. That healing potion Ancha had injected him with seemed to be doing the job, his face looked flushed with health and the wound on his side had ceased to bleed. More bizarre than Shredder sleeping peacefully on the ground a yard or so away from the turtles was that the women were busy adorning him with flowers, garlands of rich red fluffy flowers which they draped over his chest and limbs, and delicate purple flowers wound through his black hair. April was watching with some amusement as the strong, warrior women giggled like young girls, blushed, and stared at Shredder as if he were some sort of gift from the gods.  
  
The turtles were watching with profound annoyance, and not a little bit of jealousy.  
  
"Don't these chicks know he's, like, an evil bastard?" asked Mike, as he watched a particularly lovely young woman weave tiny white flowered vines through his fingers.  
  
"Apparently we're in that dimension where women still haven't learned from dating assholes," said Raphael, and not a little bitterly.  
  
April had to grin. "Please, don't tell me you guys are jealous."  
  
"Not a chance," Mike insisted. "I mean, being jealous of that loser! Hey, we're the heroes here, right? I don't know how many times we've saved New York from some twisted plot thought up by that freak. They just like him, because..." He trailed off with a pout.  
  
April couldn't help but feel a wave of sympathy. While the turtles were muscular, strong-willed, and golden-hearted, they were still mutants, with only the most basic of human attributes. All those women saw...well, April had to admit, as he lay there, sleeping in the sun, his face relaxed, with dark arched eyebrows and thick dark hair laying gently around a strong, smooth face, and that body, geez, he was almost devilishly handsome. Even being away from her own world for a few days had made her lonely for a human face. It also struck her that he may be the only human male on this entire world...  
  
"Unfortunately," Leonardo observed. "I think they'll only like him when he's knocked out."  
  
"That's true," Don said. "I don't think these ladies know what they're getting themselves into...besides, we've got the portal to think about."  
  
"Definitely," said Raphael. "Why don't we just get the hell out of here?"  
  
"I told you," Don said as he punched some figures into the Dimensional Positioning Device. "I'm trying to sort out what's going on with the portal. I'm guessing it's only about one more day's walk, but, I can't figure out if its even worth going." He narrowed his eyes and glanced over at Shredder. "I half think he was just stalling for time when he said that it wasn't a portal, but, I don't know what to make of these readings. It's so unstable...there may be a chance it won't be there at all when we get there..."  
  
"I say we take the chance," Raphael said. "We've got no obligation to stay. April, you own him, right?" April couldn't help but blush when Raph said this. "Why don't you just donate him to their love-slave charity or whatever, and let's get the hell out of here."  
  
"I don't know if we can do that." Leo sighed. "I mean, when he wakes up, he might slaughter the lot of them. We can't just leave a dangerous criminal with these people..."  
  
Just then Ancha walked up, grasping her bow and beaming. "Greetings, April and tawdi! I have sent an envoy to the Palace, which is not far, and they should be arriving soon with a proper entourage for us."  
  
Leo glanced warily at her and gestured for her to sit down. "Ancha, we must speak with you about Saki, er, the Paelo..."  
  
She lowered herself to the ground slowly. "Surely, tawdi, I will speak with you. But is it not your mistress's place to speak about what is hers?"  
  
April's eyes widened for a moment, and then glancing at the turtle's tired faces, she cleared her throat. "Ancha, I think you might be mistaken about the, Pae-, Saki, the Shredder. I'm not sure he is what you were expecting. Where we come from he is a violent, evil..."  
  
Ancha's face softened into a grin. "I'm not sure what you are attributing to it, but as you can see," she gestured to where the women fawned over his still form. "He is in perfect health, and very lovely. And he speaks and has will..."  
  
"I think that's precisely the problem," Leo began, and Ancha glanced at him as if it was not his place to speak, but he pressed on. "In our world he is a hated and feared criminal, murderous and lusting for power. We have warred with him for years, and have never managed to defeat him. He is merciless and without pity, and the moment he wakes up, rest assured, he will kill whoever he can and escape, or worse..."  
  
Leo stopped. Ancha's face had been contorting with some emotion and she finally could not hold it in any longer, and burst out laughing. Leo looked at the rest of the turtles in amazement.   
  
She finally got a hold of herself and began to speak. "I apologize, tawdi, for my behavior. But it has become obvious that your knowledge of these creatures is not as deep and rich as our own, and that is why they still trouble you so."   
  
She paused, and her voice took on a serious tone. "Our experience with them is vast and deep, and that is why what you say seems naive. Know then, that our world was not always so. Paelo used to be plentiful, but, according to our myths, those were the dark times, for all of their hearts were infected with hate and evil, just as you say. It is no secret with us. I am not privy to the wisdom of the Priestesses, so I cannot tell you the whole tale, but there was a great War, and the Paelo were slaughtered by the grace of the Goddess. The females of our race live many, many years, so many that it did not matter for a long, long time that the Paelos were dead. And when it finally did, when the very oldest of the oldest, the Queen mother Herself was ill and dying, for it is only the old who make up the court, then the Goddess sent a Paelo among us, and he was subdued by the Queen and united with her, and her highest courtesans. And for generations it has been thus. Only the most ancient rule in the court, and it is only those who produce daughters who go and live with the commons. After much time, one like myself," and here Ancha grew reverent and stole a glance to where Shredder slept. "may, enjoy the pleasures of the court as well."  
  
The turtles took this in slowly. At some point April wanted to object, wanted to argue that there were many men from her world who were not violent and did not hate, but then she found herself biting her tongue, and thinking deeply about the question.  
  
Leo finally spoke. "This doesn't change what I said. Your men may have been dangerous, but he is a twisted, evil..."  
  
Ancha smiled and shook her head. "Truly, the art of potions has not been as advanced on your world. I should have known when I saw the Paelo, and it was so awake, so present. That is forbidden for all Paelo are evil of heart and never to be trusted. Let me put it plainly. Our poison darts, our healing vials, are curing mercers are but our simplest concoctions. Before the Paelo even wakes, it will be given a dazing drink which will make it weak and docile, and well before it meets the Queen it will be given others. And before their night together, it will be given such potions that even I do not know, secret holy potions that will make it passionate and make it forget himself..." Ancha trailed off. She sat for a moment, breathing deeply, then smiled. "I must go speak with my troupe before they bury the poor Paelo in flowers." And she was gone.  
  
April found herself blushing at this, and a little smug. He eyes drifted over to where Shredder lay, his face flushed in the sun, daintily touched by a dozen women who fawned over him, and she truly began to realize how valuable an object he was to these women. The thought that she "owned" him made her feel like the wealthiest woman on the planet.  
  
Leo sat back after this riveting tale and steepled his stubby, green fingers. "Well, I take it back, I think they can handle him just fine."  
  
"Jesus," Raphael said. "Hell yeah they can. And may they never figure out that we're male."  
  
Michelangelo smiled. "Well, dudes, I guess that means we can go! Sounds like these chicks have got Shred-head whipped in a way we never could."  
  
"It's still too good a way to go," murmured Raph, staring at the gorgeous women who surrounded Shredder. "But I'll take it over nothing." The turtles all started to rise, but stopped when they saw that Don was still sitting perfectly still, his face concentrated on the DPD. He looked up at them, his eyes veiled with just a hint of fear. "We can't. The portal just disappeared."  
  
Everyone stood silently for a moment mulling this over, and then a voice behind them caused them all to jump.  
  
"Besides, it is necessary that you first see the Queen."  
  
The turtles spun, reaching for their weapons, cursing themselves for allowing themselves to be snuck up on. Behind them stood a woman of the likes the turtles and April had never seen before. Her face was both young and ancient at once, wise and unspeakably innocent and fresh, her skin glowed with an inner light and her eyes were the gray of shining silver. She wore a delicate white shift woven with gold, and a thick ivory cloak. Her hair was covered with a golden-netted hood. As opposed to Ancha and her troupe of women, who seemed a bit primitive in dress, this woman looked completely civilized and sophisticated.   
  
She was surrounded by an honor guard of equally garbed women, bearing golden bows that seemed more ceremonial in nature. More surprising, Ancha and her women had flung themselves down prostrate at the feet of this woman and her entourage. The turtles lowered their weapons.  
  
"A wise choice, pseudo-Paelo," said the strange woman, her eyes narrowing slightly. Ancha glanced up at the turtles with alarm when she heard this.  
  
The woman in command turned away from the turtles, obviously irritated. "Ancha, get up. If this is what you have summoned your High Priestess to see, then you have truly blasphemed..." She gestured impatiently as she talked.  
  
Ancha sprung to her feet and interrupted. "No, your Holiness. These are not the creatures I spoke of..." She gestured for the Priestess to follow, and her troupe of women shrunk away, clearing a path through the grass to where Shredder slept adorned with flowers.  
  
The turtles followed and could here the Priestess gasp. They gathered around to where he lay on his back, not lying perfectly still. His eyes moved under his eyelids, and in the silence of the moment, they could hear him murmur slightly, "Yes...yes."  
  
The Priestess gazed upon Shredder for a moment silently. "Well, Ancha...I take back what I said...this is certainly Paelo, although it is of the mysteries alone that you were able to recognize him." She turned her gray eyes on Ancha who shrunk slightly from the gaze. "For while I have seen several Paelo in my long, long life, you, being only one hundred, have seen none. It is something we cannot control, and belongs to the collective memory, that women can still sense a Paelo and not take him for a monster. I take it you knew instantly..."  
  
"In every fiber of my body." Ancha breathed, looking down at the sleeping form.  
  
The Priestess's eyes narrowed again, a gesture of supreme calculation that sent shivers through the turtles. "Yes, I would think you did." She turned back to Saki, and snapped her fingers. "Very beautiful, though. Most uncommonly attractive." While she was very interested in Shredder, it was immediately apparent to the turtles and April that the Priestess held none of the same reverence for him that Ancha and her troupe did. In fact, her voice held something that amounted to greed. She peered down at him, "We have been most fortunate this time, the Goddess is especially giving."  
  
Her Honor Guard appeared around her, looking at Saki with the same disinterested greed as their Priestess. "Bring the biers here," she said. "We must ready at once to transport him back to the Palace. There is much to be done."  
  
Leo took this for his opportunity. "Priestess, with all due respect, is it necessary for us to come along? We came here accidentally, and we must travel at once if we are to return home."  
  
The Priestess turned her piercing gray eyes on Leonardo and he felt himself stepping backward involuntarily. "You of course may leave when you like. But you must first travel to the Palace. The Queen will want to speak with you."  
  
Raphael made a dissenting noise, and his hand crept toward his weapon. Leo gestured for him to stand down. "May we speak for a moment together?" The Priestess nodded and they grouped together a little apart from the group.  
  
"I say we fight'm," Raphael said.  
  
"Ditto," said Mike. "They're basically taking us prisoner."  
  
"We shouldn't fight unless it's absolutely necessary," Leo said. "Don, what's going on with the portal?"  
  
Don snapped the DPD with a sigh. "There doesn't seem to be any point in fighting now, because, it's gone. There's no doubt in my mind that if we fight our way out of here and get to the place where it should be, we'll find nothing."  
  
"Better than being a prisoner..." Raph growled, growing impatient.  
  
"Not necessarily," Don said. "Because if there is anyone who will be able to tell us how to get out of here, it's him." He pointed to where Shredder slept. "I'm now convinced that that contraption back there wasn't a portal device. And he's the only one who can tell us what it is."  
  
"But he'll never tell us," April interjected. She'd been listening to this conversation and beginning to think getting home was more and more hopeless. "He'd rather we rot than tell us."  
  
"Yes," said Leo slowly. "But if they have all these mind-control potions they claim to have, wouldn't they have a truth potion? Or any of these potions that make him docile, he should talk with those. Maybe we can ask that we interrogate him with it?"  
  
"That's true," April said. "Technically, I DO still own him or something. They said they would trade with me fairly for him."  
  
"That seems like all we can do," Don said. "Unless he tells us what exactly happened, and how to get the portal back, I think there's no chance of ever getting home."  
  
And that, thought April to herself, would leave us in that unfathomable position of Shredder being "the last man on earth," so to speak. And although she used that phrase to say she "wouldn't even if he was the last man on earth," she was beginning to understand the wonder and awe the young women were paying Shredder.  
  
  
To Be Continued! 


	5. Drowser

Thank you to all my readers who took time to comment! I appreciate the reviews!  
  
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Chapter 5  
  
"What do you think Splinter is doing right now?" Don asked as they walked alongside the bier that was carrying Shredder. They were making their way through the dense jungle, a line of biers and bearers, toward the White City jutting up into the air in the distance.  
  
"He's probably looking for us," sighed Leonardo. "I expect he'll have gone to that warehouse, seen the machine, the blood, and the lack of us and put it all together."  
  
"What do you think he'd make of this?" snorted Michelangelo and gestured toward the rather bizarre scene.   
  
Shredder was reclining on soft cushions laid across the bier, still asleep from that healing potion that Ancha had shot him with. On either side of him reclined two of the noble women who had accompanied the Priestess's honor guard. Leonardo couldn't quite figure out what their purpose was, but they seemed fairly busy making sure all the flowers that were woven into his hair didn't fall out, and that his skin was well petted. The Priestess herself rode in a large, enthroned bier behind Shredder. April rode with her, at her insistence and carried on a broken, tense, conversation with the cleric.  
  
"I think," said Raphael, "that he would find this all majorly messed up. I mean, here we are walking and can-head's lying there getting macked on by some hot chicks. And he's not even paying attention."  
  
As if responding, Shredder's hand twitched suddenly. One of the women reclining next to him cried out in alarm as he gripped her arm hard and rolled his head back and forth, trying to come out of the murkiness cast over him by the potion. The bearers lowered the bier with shrieks and the Priestess immediately leapt from her throne and ran to the shrieking girls. "What's happening?"  
  
The girl whose arm Shredder cried out again as he tightened his grip, and frantically tried to pull herself free. Shredder was lifting himself slightly, but still having problems opening his eyes.  
  
Ancha jogged up from the rear of the procession. "What is wrong?"  
  
"He has come back to us early." The Priestess narrowed her eyes at Shredder who was straining against the potion to come awake. The trapped girl began to sob in pain. Raphael started to draw his sais to aid the girl but the Priestess raised a hand in warning to him.  
  
Shredder's eyes flickered open, as he half raised himself up. His eyes, still unfocused passed over the whimpering girl at his side. Even in a half-sedated state he knew the value of keeping a hostage close. He looked up to the Priestess and the large group that had formed around him with confusion. And, for just a moment, his dark eyes locked with those of the Priestess. He narrowed his eyes and returned her glare.  
  
"Ancha!" spat the Priestess, nonplussed.  
  
Ancha immediately strung another little mercer dart and swiftly fired it into Shredder's neck. At the close proximity, there was an audible "thwap" as it entered his throat, and his eyes immediately rolled back into his head, his body relaxed, and he released his grip on the girl, who immediately scuttled away from him.  
  
"I cannot believe it," Ancha breathed. "He was only dosed with the mercer a couple hours ago."  
  
"It is apparent that this Paelo is not so susceptible to our potions. He will need double the doses and twice as often."  
  
"Could that not be dangerous to him..." Ancha began to object.  
  
"Silly girl!" the Priestess hissed and turned her stony face on the shorter woman. "You did not live in the time of the Paelos as I did. Dangerous to him? Dangerous to us if he wakes fully. He could fight. Or worse, flee. He is the most precious object in the Kingdom, the world. The potions enfeeble the mind, yes. But it is not the mind that we must preserve, but the body." The Priestess sighed. "Ancha, I appoint you to stay near him and be vigilant. Next time he wakes, do not apply the mercer, but the drowser. It is time for him to be awake, but not awake. For soon he will meet the Queen. He should be healed by the next time he wakes."  
  
The turtles listened to this exchange with great interest. April had come up and stood next to them and she gathered from their looks that this might be the right time to ask about interrogating him.   
  
She cleared her throat. "Priestess, may I ask you something regarding, my, my property."  
  
"Of course," the Priestess replied, evaluating April's face.  
  
"The potion that you use, ah, to make the Paelo receptive to the Queen, does it make him unable to resist all suggestions?"  
  
"That is the nature of the potion, yes." the Priestess replied, but her eyes seemed to grow cunning.  
  
"Would it be possible that my friends and I could speak with the Paelo when he is under the influence of this potion? This would suffice as payment for him, of course."  
  
"Absolutely not." the cleric answered, not missing a beat. "The amorn potion, the potion of unification, is holy, sacred, and secret and can only be used in the presence of the Queen and her courtiers."  
  
April opened her mouth but the Priestess cut her off.  
  
"But, by way of payment, you may speak with him while he is under the influence of the drowser, the next potion he will be dosed with. The drowser makes the Paelo semi-coherent, while restricting his ability to move. Unfortunately, it does not guarantee that he will not resist questioning, but it will make him more pliable. That is all I can offer you." She glanced quickly at the turtles, then answered. "And it must be you alone. When we reach the Palace, it is critical that the Paelo be removed from the presence of these other males, for reasons of purification. Only you may speak to him, as is your right as his owner."  
  
April glanced warily at the turtles who shrugged and the entire procession reassembled and slowly began to move on again.   
  
The turtles gathered into a group to whisper about the strange events that had just taken place. "That chick is completely freaky," Mike observed quietly, gesturing over his shoulder to where the Priestess rode.  
  
"I have to agree," whispered Leonardo. "I can't help but think..."  
  
"...that she's up to something," finished Don. "I mean, Ancha seems pretty earnest. She seems to actually believe all these silly things about Shred-head. But the Priestess? She seems a bit more practical and cynical about it all."  
  
"Maybe its just not as big of a deal," said Leonardo. "After all, according to her, Shredder's not the first guy she's dealt with."  
  
"It's not that," said Don. "It's not just her no nonsense approach. It's something else. The way she looked at him. Like she was going to have him for dinner."  
  
"Well she is, in a manner of speaking," chimed in Raphael.  
  
"Not like that," whispered Don impatiently. "Like something else. I don't know, maybe Mikey said it best. She is freaky. And not quite human."  
  
"I have to agree with that," Leo said.  
  
"Well," said Raph, casting a sour glance at Shredder who was again tended by the two slightly more watchful women. "Let's just hope April can get what we need out of Shredder. It may just be up to her to find out where we are and how to get home."  
  
Up in the bier, sitting tensely next to the stern Priestess, April was frantically wondering the same thing.  
  
****************************************************  
  
It had been a long walk through the dense jungle before emerging onto a wide, flat plain which led up to the gates of the White City. As they approached, its dizzying towers rose higher and higher. As the shapes of the city emerged, columns and arches, and great-temple-like structures topped by gargantuan domes stood in a jumble within the walls. April was distantly reminded of the scale of the Imperial Palace in Vienna, somehow over-layed with the compact spires and domes of Constantinople. Except the entire city glimmered an eerie, almost antiseptic, white. Inside the gates, hundreds of well-dressed, aristocratic women gathered to watch the procession, all of them growing solemn when Shredder passed, still asleep, in the bier.  
  
They passed through a series of courts and marble halls and finally approached the inner Palace, marked by a set of twenty-foot golden doors that were opened by four well-appointed guards. Inside was a vast, echoing hall with Gothic-ribbed roofing but Greek-inspired marble mosaics on the floor and massive murals akin to those found in the ruins of Crete. Leo nudged Raphael and pointed to the wall. He gulped when he saw that the scenes depicted were that of a great war, between a vast army of women and a rag-tag group of men who were seemingly getting slaughtered.  
  
Inside the hall, the biers were lowered and everyone gathered in a group to hear the Priestess.  
  
She looked squarely at April and the Turtles. "The Paelo must be taken into the Royal Chambers of the East Wing for purification. He will not be pure for at least a day so there will be no audience with the Queen tonight. Instead, April, tonight you may spend your last night with the Paelo and emerge in the morning no longer his owner."  
  
April immediately blushed and objected. "Oh, but I only need to ask him some questions. I don't need to, er, spend the night..."  
  
But as she said this, the women around the circle, both Ancha's troupe and the aristocrats gasped in horror and the Priestess stepped forward with anger. "You dare reject such an honor?"  
  
April stepped backward and she felt Leo poke her from behind. "Agree, April. He'll be drugged, don't worry," he whispered.   
  
That's exactly what I'm worried about, thought April. "I mean," she said aloud, trying to straighten her back and sound in charge. "Of course I will spend the night with him, as is MY RIGHT." She emphasized the last two words and glanced around at the rest of the women, feeling that it couldn't hurt for her to gain some authority.  
  
"Fine," said the Priestess, still wary. "You and your tawdi will be given a chamber in the West Wing, and you will be fetched in the Evening when it is time." She spun curtly and the rest of the women followed, hoisting up Shredder, still snoozing away and unawares of what had taken place. They disappeared through some great bronze doors, and Ancha, with some Palace servants led April and the turtles in the opposite direction. But, they all felt anxious in parting ways with Shredder, as so much was at stake on him.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
They were lounging around the chamber, pretty much enjoying being in someplace so luxurious, and a place with a bath. They had all taken turns in the great, marble swimming pool of a bath and now sat around on the gilded furniture, freshly scrubbed, greedily eating the delicious fruits and meats that had been brought to them. They had been speculating all afternoon about the mysterious Priestess, what the Queen really wanted with Shredder, and what the heck April was going to do to squeeze him for information that night.  
  
"It's not pizza, but it's darn good," observed Mike, as he attempted to place some meat, a tomato-like fruit, and some bread in his mouth at once, in a desperate attempt to reproduce pizza.  
  
"So, April," Leo began cautiously. "You'll be O.K. being near Shred-head tonight? You don't think he may..."  
  
"I'll be fine," April insisted. "He's going to be knocked out on some "drowser" or whatever. The problem is, how the heck do I get him to tell us how to get home?"  
  
"Well," said Don. "There are many ancient techniques of interrogation, secret, subtle skills which will force even the most awake individual to spill his soul. But, I don't think we'll get it all taught to you in the next half hour."  
  
"I suggest taking my sai." said Raph flatly.  
  
April looked at him in surprise.  
  
Leo said. "I think I've got to agree. The oldest methods work best. He'll be disoriented. Hold the blade to his throat, explain to him that he's been captured as some sort of long-term sacrifice, that they're going keep him drugged and kill him, and if he tells us how to get home, that we'll break him out and take him with us. That potion may make him believe you."  
  
"We won't take him back?" April asked.  
  
"Heck no," said Don. "There's an entire world of women here who think that he's the neatest thing since sliced-bread and will probably fight to the death to keep him. He's not our problem now. We'll get the information from him and split."  
  
April nodded. "And if he doesn't talk?"  
  
Leonardo sighed, "Cut him a little with the blade, April, if you can manage it. I'm sorry that you have to do this, it's not right that you should. But, just cut him a little and he'll snap to attention. Do what you have to."  
  
"Don't worry," April said, fingering Raphael's sai. "I'll find out what we need to know. Somehow." Deep down, she wondered if she'd really be able to hurt anyone with the weapon.  
  
Just then Ancha stepped in the door and began to shoo the turtles away. "Be gone! Your mistress must dress!"  
  
The turtles gave her a knowing look of support and disappeared into an adjoining chamber.  
  
Ancha clasped her hands together and smiled happily at April. "I have just checked in on your Paelo. He awoke sometime ago, and was given the drowser, so he is now half alert. He will be most receptive to you, I think."  
  
"Uh-huh," April said, not really knowing how to respond to such a statement. Ancha brought out of a wardrobe a gorgeous, gauzy shift of a dress and helped April into it. "Now you are ready," Ancha said with satisfaction. "And remember, I will be outside the chamber all evening if he needs redosed. Just call my name."  
  
April nodded, and with a shaky breath, she grasped the sai and followed Ancha out of the room.  
  
**********************************************************  
  
The door shut behind April in the gorgeous, lofty bedchamber and she immediately blushed.  
  
Across the marble floor, on the enormous pillow-covered four-poster bed reclined a nearly-nude Shredder. If it were not for strategically-placed cover carelessly flung over his groin, the "nearly" would not have been required in the sentence before. He lay on his back, arms loosely spread at his sides. April was relieved to see that around his wrists were golden-handcuffs that trailed by a chain to the head-board. He appeared to be asleep, his head slightly turned, mouth parted.  
  
She started across the floor and approached the bed, her face turning a deeper scarlet as his body came into focus. His skin was smooth and dark against the white sheets, and as it was almost oppressively warm in the room, even with a large French window which was open admitting a slight breeze and tossing gauzy curtains, there was a fine mist of sweat across his body.  
  
She neared the bed and stood for a moment at a loss at what to do next. After a quick decision, she averted her eyes and quickly tugged the sheets over most of his body, practically up to his chin. She sighed, feeling a little better, but at the movement of the sheets Shredder stirred and opened his eyes. The dark irises seemed unfocused as he cast his gaze across the room and up to April. His face contorted slightly in frustration, and he sat up. April was distressed to see the sheet slip down all the way to his waist. His muscles flexed as he sat up, moving slowly as if through water, or in great pain.  
  
"Miss O'Neil..." his voice cracked. "Miss O'Neil. Where have you brought me? Why...where am I?" The words were drawn out, as if he had to think very hard to speak. He continued to blink as if he were not quite awake.  
  
April thought quickly, and hid the sai behind her back for the moment. "You've been captured. You remember the women."  
  
"Yes," he said. He sagged against the head-board weakly, as if it was draining his strength merely to sit up. "I remember...they shot me with something...but...I can't think..."   
  
April felt confident enough to step closer. "They've brought you to their Palace. They want you because you're a man, and there are no men in this place. They killed them all."  
  
His eyes snapped to hers when she said this. April continued, "They want you for, eh, breeding purposes. And then they said they're going to sacrifice you."  
  
As she said this, he turned slowly and examined the golden fetters around his wrist. It seemed rather pointless, he didn't even have enough strength to stand, let alone break bonds.  
  
April continued, "But we'll break you out, take you with us. But, the portal is gone." She stepped closer as she said this. "You must tell us how we got here, and how we can go back."  
  
Shredder didn't seem to be paying attention. He looked from the fetters to the walls, and slowly up to the ceiling. He mumbled to himself, "Breeding? They said Breeding...but that's not true at all...no..."  
  
"Hey!" April came closer, and even sat down on the bed. "Listen. It may sound great in the short-run. But they said they're going to KILL you, cut your throat. We must get out of here soon, don't you understand?"  
  
His head rocked back as she said this. "Oh, yes...they'll kill...but not cut...they won't breed, can't breed..." His words were slurred with the effort of saying them.  
  
April suddenly snapped. She whipped out the sai and grabbed him by his shoulder, yanking him close. She pressed the tip of the sai to his throat. "Listen, Shred-head. I have no qualms about slicing your throat. We can figure out how to leave without you, but by then, you'll be dead. Do you understand? Tell us now and we'll take you, we'll all get out of here at once. If you don't, they'll cut you up and we'll leave anyways. Got it?"  
  
She was leaning close to his face, and his eyes gazed into hers. His eyes looked sad somehow, a bit hopeless. The skin of the shoulder where she grasped him was warm and smooth. She could hear his breathing, shallow, ragged breaths.   
  
She glared at him and he at her for some time, and then, slowly, he leaned forward, bringing his lips to hers. April was so shocked that for a moment she didn't react. With great effort, but also with a kind of falling forward, his warm lips brushed hers lightly. April was frozen, and as he leaned forward she held the sai firmly at his throat such that when he engaged in the almost-kiss the tip pierced his throat and a little stream of blood wound down his skin.   
  
He flinched slightly after a moment and leaned back against the head-board, closing his eyes. April sat, absolutely stunned and enflamed with a feeling she couldn't quite identify, watching his dark chest rise and fall and the little rivulet of blood snake across his torso. The breeze lifted the gauzy curtains again, and all was silent.  
To Be Continued! 


	6. Heat

Chapter 6  
  
April sat stunned and watched Shredder. His eyes were fluttering and he was still muttering to himself. Did he just try to kiss her? Or? All of the sudden she realized that he was so out of it he probably had no idea what he was doing. He probably didn't even understand who she was. But he did seem dazed enough to be persuaded somehow...  
  
She gathered her wits and reconsidered. Looking down at the sai in her hand tipped with blood, she realized she was going about this all wrong. She looked at the cut she had made on his shoulder and felt a bit ashamed. April walked across the large, silent room to the well-appointed bath suite and gathered a wetted towel and a dry one. Returning to the bed, she carefully set the sai on the ground well out of his reach. Taking the wet towel, she pressed it carefully to his chest and swabbed up some of the blood. His eyes fluttered open and he moaned softly. After cleaning up the blood, she pressed the dry towel to the small cut on his neck.  
  
His eyes wandered around the room, as if looking for the person who was doing the touching. Then they focused on hers. "Have I met you before...?" He whispered.  
  
April shuddered, but knew the tact she was going to have to take. "Uh-huh," she murmured. His hand rose from the bed and weakly moved up to cover hers which pressed the towel against him. She leaned closer, "I'm a friend, I want to help you..."  
  
He gazed at her with a kind of desperation and she grew nervous, and not a little sad. Here was the turtle's great enemy, reduced to a kind of helplessness. She sensed a way to take advantage of this dreamy state he was in, where all his aggressions seemed drained, replaced by a kind of desire. Where was the terrible Oroku Saki now? Drugged and dazed, unable to distinguish faces and unable to remember his own rage.   
  
Leaning in, she came toward his face, pressing her lips near his ear. "You were building a machine..." she whispered. "Do you remember it...?" She could smell the heat of his skin. She could tell he had been washed, and carefully anointed with oils.  
  
"Yes." he said quietly.  
  
"Did you want to go somewhere...?"   
  
"...mm, yes..." he said. April jumped when she felt him touch her arm, caressing it slightly. This close to him, she could hear his slow breathing, almost drowned out by her own pounding heart.  
  
"Where did you want to go..."  
  
"Some place," he murmured. "A place...where they live forever..."  
  
April tensed. She couldn't believe it. Did he actually know this place? Did he actually mean to come here?! Wherever here may be? That's impossible! He seemed just as shocked by the warrior women who captured them as the turtles. If he knew about the warriors, the priestesses, and their hunt for men, he never would have walked right into their trap...  
  
"Tell me about these immortals..." she murmured, "I'd like to know them..." April pulled back from his ear, and looked him in the eyes, his face just inches from hers.  
  
He gazed steadily into her eyes, seemingly transfixed. "I don't know them...I don't know what they are...I was just told...found out...a dimension of immortals...how they feed...."  
  
April narrowed her eyes. Feed? What was he talking about? At least he seemed more focused. Her touching him seemed to bring him to a kind of rapt attention, seemed to focus his thoughts enough to extract memories, secrets. She studied his face. The dark skin, arched brows, intense eyes...always twisted into rage, now relaxed and filled with a growing desire, he was almost a different person. But not, she thought to herself. Not at all.  
  
"Please tell me more..." she cooed quietly, bring a finger to his lips and tracing their lines.  
  
He shuddered at her touch, "I knew they fed somehow...lived forever...I would learn from them this trick..."  
  
"But the men don't live forever."  
  
"I think I know now," he looked confused for a moment, and for a split second his face fell into an awake pose, and a keen intelligence shone in his eyes, but it faded. He gazed harder at her, and then slowly, the hand on her arm crept up to the back of her neck and pressed her face forward.   
  
April tensed, not knowing what to do. Hell! What was she doing, coming on to a drugged Shredder, trying to woo secrets from him. Everything in her head told her to twist away, that this wouldn't work, that it was horribly wrong, that it was sick, but she didn't want him to come out of the state of submission...she allowed her face to be pressed forward and closing her eyes her lips gently met his. In this alien room in a different dimension it was easy to convince herself that she wasn't April, and that he wasn't Shredder, and that she could just give in, for the sake of...and he kissed her gently and for a moment time suspended itself.  
  
And then the turtles's faces swam up in front of her and was filled with disgust. She sprang back. It was easy enough, and he weakly reached for her. She backed away from him. "Tell me...tell me..." she growled. Anger swept over her accompanied by nausea. She knelt and scooped up the sai, coming at him again. She thrust her hand into his hair and pulled his head back, exposing the neck. She pressed the tip to his throat again, indenting the skin. "You will tell me how to go back, how to open the portal..."  
  
His eyes widened, but he didn't struggle. He looked up at her. "I do think I know you..." he murmured.  
  
"Ugh!" she spat, disgusted. Almost without knowing what she was doing, she took up the sai and swung the handle at him hard, hitting him savagely across the face. He crumpled to the bed, his hand holding his face.   
  
April was stunned. His mouth bled onto the sheets, and he lay on his side panting. She looked down at the sai, frozen by her own violence. She flung the sai across the room so it clattered on the cold marble. She sat down on the edge of the bed, letting her head fall into her hands. "Geesh," she said. "I just don't have the stomach for this. I can't even beat up Shredder when I have the chance to do it..."  
  
Saki lifted himself up slightly, looking at the blood on his hand. She watched him out of the corner of her eye.   
  
Suddenly he sprang up, grasped her hard and tossed her to the bed throwing himself on top of her.   
  
"What are you doing..." she cried, struggling and looked up into his face, then gasped.  
  
The face she saw was calculating, intelligent, angry and fully awake. With a knot of dread in her throat she realized that the blow to his face had sobered him completely. The face she saw was the angry one she recognized, the Shredder!  
  
He glared at her. "Miss O'Neil!" He looked around the room wildly, taking it all in with a glance. He examined the gold chains and with a growl pinned both of her hands above her head and used his other hand to grasp her face hard. "What is the meaning of this! Where am I?" Then, as if becoming aware of things, he glanced down at himself, and finding himself nude, she was almost amused to see him slightly blush. With some dexterity, he quickly gathered up some sheets around himself, then turned his angry gaze back down to her. "Those blasted turtles will pay for this! You will tell me now where I am!" His face bore down on hers and he trembled with rage.  
  
Thinking quickly, she decided to try something she knew she'd end up regretting. "What do you mean, baby?" she cooed, writhing a little in his grip, in what she hoped was a seductive manner. "I thought we were just getting somewhere..."  
  
Saki's eyes widened. "Wench! What do you mean..." he hissed. Instead of replying, she squirmed some more in his grasp, turning her face to the side and rubbing her cheek against his arm.  
  
Saki looked down at her aghast. "Have you gone mad, Miss O'Neil?" he whispered. He started to speak again but stopped when she moaned and arched her back toward him. Even for a trained Ninja master, this was too much. His face melted to confusion and he loosed his grip on her hands. She slipped one free and brought it to his face, caressing it. April was surprised to find that while before she had been weak, now she felt totally in control of things. Shredder looked down at her with a mix of emotions, anger, disbelief, and a growing desire that she could tell he was fighting with all his being. His discipline was draining away.   
  
Slowly, against all better judgment, and against his instinct for survival, he lowered his face to hers and pressed their lips together. This was no weak, drugged kiss. He parted her lips with a kind of abandon and kissed her deeply, releasing her other hand. She brought her hands around his back, trailing her fingers along the tense muscles, and he lowered his body to hers, wrapping his arms around her. His mouth moved to her neck, kissing it roughly but expertly. "This is madness," he murmured, in a voice choking with passion. April let his hands roam over her, biding her time. "I'm dreaming..." he muttered, his mouth moving lower on her chest.  
  
This made April tense, "You've dreamed of this...?" she whispered throatily.   
  
"Yes," he murmured with a kind of pain, "oh, yes..."   
  
April lay for a moment, thinking thoughts that she would never admit to, already putting the pleasure she was feeling away into a part of her mind that no one would ever find. She gave him another moment at his leisure, just another, and then, with almost regret she cried, "Ancha! Help!"  
  
As she hoped, the ever-vigilant Shredder was completely off guard. Saki tensed looking up at her. Behind him she heard the door bang open, and then there was the sound of a bow string slapping. Saki jerked, his eyes gazing into hers with shock, and then they dimmed, and he collapsed on her. Ancha ran to the side of the bed, "April! Are you ok?"  
  
April lay panting under Shredder's unconscious weight. "Yes, Ancha. I'm fine. He just got, er, a little too frisky."  
  
Ancha looked down at the scene of the large man sleeping atop April and blushed. "Oh...well, it's knocked out now." She reached over and removed a dart from the back of his neck. "He'll sleep well through the morning."  
  
"Fine," April said. "Um, could you just leave us then." She tried to smile. Ancha bowed and back out of the room, eyeing them all the way.  
  
April lay still for a moment, numb. She slowly pushed Saki's dead weight off of her and wormed her way out from under him. His face was relaxed again, softened again with the drugs. Some blood still smeared his lip. She could taste his blood in her mouth. She sighed, lying on her side gazing at him.  
  
"I've failed," she murmured. And then with a pain of guilt she began to sob. "I more than failed. I, I, liked that too much..."   
  
She weakly reached over and pulled the sheets over Saki, who slept evenly. Rolling as far away as she could from him on the bed, she decided to trust Ancha's potion and give in to the sleep of exhaustion and confusion that haunted her. The two humans slept a troubled sleep until the first light of morning.  
  
April awoke as an early beam of light slanted down the wall and across her face. She awoke gazing across the sheets to Oroku Saki, who slept on his side facing her. Memories of the night before flooded back in a rush.   
  
For a moment the guilt loomed large, but with the cold morning, most of the unspoken passion had faded. April found it easy to convince herself that she had simply played an arrogant Saki smartly against his own lurid lusts. In fact, she began to think how clever it was to play on his weaknesses. Certainly he cared nothing for her, he hated her, but the prospect of a warm, female body showed old-Shred head that even he wasn't above base impulses. The kisses she remembered from the night before became savage and without feeling. She had almost convinced herself that he had given into her as some sort of revenge against the turtles when she heard someone burst into the room.  
  
Ancha appeared at the side of the bed and knelt, her eyes wide. "You must take your Paelo and flee from the castle immediately!"  
  
April sat up, blinking. "What?"  
  
"The Priestess...I have never trusted her...she has taken your friends prisoner with a legion of her imperial guard...she approaches here to capture you...you must hurry!"  
  
"The turtles!" April cried. She stood, looking vaguely at the sai lying across the room. How could she rescue them?  
  
"No!" Ancha begged. She scurried over to Shredder and shook him. She had brought his old outfit, the black pants and gi shirt, and began to clumsily dress him. "You must go with your Paelo. You must flee! It is the only thing that will save you! The Paelo is what the Priestess must have, with it you can bargain, save your friends. Without it, you are all lost. Flee into the woods, take your Paelo hostage."  
  
April rapidly internalized all this. "But Ancha, why are you helping us...."  
  
Ancha finished yanking a shirt over a sleepy and blinking Saki, and paused for a moment looking sorrowfully at his face. "So beautiful...something I will never truly share." Her hand trailed across his chest. Shredder gazed at her with a kind of bemused acceptance. "The Priestess...I begin to suspect foul things...horrible things...that the legends are a lie, the religion is false, that union with the Paelo might be the last thing on their tricky minds, that they were biding their time to discover how they could utilize your friends..." she touched Saki's face tenderly. "But he is infinitely more precious. Infinitely so!"  
  
Just then, there a was sound of marching in the hall, a bang at the door. Ancha sprang up, took a few steps back and drew her bow, holding it on them. She winked. "You must go! Quickly! Out the back passage. There is a temple in the woods to the North West. Abandoned. It will offer water and a place to hide. You must go!"  
  
April scooped up the sai and was trying to get her thoughts together when the door burst open, and an angry, powerful Priestess marched into the room followed by three score armed and helmeted troops.  
  
To Be Continued! 


	7. Vixen

Thank you to all who have read and reviewed! Sorry about the cliff-hangers, but they seemed rather natural "stopping points." Oh, and I realize I've cheated a bit by keeping Saki drugged-up the whole time. There seemed to be no other way to make him appetizing than to sedate him...hopefully now he can wake up and refrain from being such a jerk. Let me know what you think!  
  
***************************************  
  
Chapter 7  
  
April gasped as the Priestess and her guards filled the room. She looked down at her one weapon, the pathetic little sai, and wondered how the hell she was going to get out of this.  
  
"Woman of the other world," the Priestess said, striding forward with a flashing eye. "You have had your night with the Paelo. It is now time to transfer ownership. I am also afraid you must come with me. I see that Ancha has told you."  
  
"She tried to escape," Ancha said, continuing to hold a strung arrow at April. She stepped back slowly and glared at April, pleading for her to escape, motioning with her eyes toward the back passage.  
  
April noticed that Ancha had cut Shredder's bonds and he now stood passively watching this whole situation with blinking, sleepy eyes. She decided to take quick action. Like a flash she was behind him, an arm wrapping around his torso, the other holding the sai up to his neck. He tensed but didn't struggle. April peeked around his bulk. "If you come one step closer, I'll slit his throat!"  
  
Suddenly, there was jolt of pain in April's hand. An arrow shot by a particularly accurate archer had knocked the sai out of her hand. It clattered under the bed. For a moment April thought all was lost, but she noticed the sleek, golden arrow lying at her feet. She scooped it up and placed its ultra sharp tip to Shredder's throat. Steeling herself, she slashed him with it. Shredder gasped and his hand went to his throat. It was a shallow cut, but April was satisfied to see a dramatic amount of blood pour down the front of his gi shirt. The archers surrounding them gasped and faltered with their weapons. Even the Priestess allowed alarm to show on her face. "Do not harm him!"  
  
"I'll do worse than harm him" April hissed. "I've said from the beginning that although he was my property, he was a great enemy and an evil man. I could slit his throat in a second! Killing him would be my greatest triumph!"  
  
"Do not..." the Priestess attempted to bargain. "We could work out some sort of trade...your friends..."  
  
"Yes, my friends," April spat. She began to back out of the passage that Ancha indicated. The group of soldiers started forward, but in response April slashed at one of Shredder's biceps. He whimpered as blood surged down his arm. The Priestess held up her hands to her soldiers and they ceased to follow. "What do you want, woman of the other world?"  
  
"I am leaving now with the Paelo," April said. "Do not attempt to follow, or I will kill him. We will return and bargain for my friends. Do not harm them or I will only return the Paelo's head to you!"  
  
With that she dragged Shredder from the room and hurried him down the passage. She was amazed that he followed her even though she had just cut him twice. He held his arm, which was still bleeding badly, and glanced at her with a kind of confusion. "Look, I'm sorry I cut you," she whispered as they ran. "I won't hurt you again, but you have to help me get out of here! Those women back there will kill you...ok?"  
  
He nodded as they ran, but still seemed unsure. They emerged from the dark passage in a kind of courtyard that was overgrown with disuse. They fought their way through the brush and came to an old garden wall and a rusted gate. April rattled it with despair and then turned to Shredder who watched her closely. "Kick it open!" she ordered. With seeming ease he lashed out at the metal gate and it flew open.   
  
Before them lay a slope, leading down into the dense, dark jungle. April paused with anxiety, quickly calculated which way was north-west, then dragged Shredder into the brush after her.  
  
*******************************************************  
  
They had pushed through the dark, steamy jungle for what seemed like hours. April now knew why Ancha had told them to come this way. The jungle was so dense, she couldn't imagine anyone would ever be able to follow them. They were both sweaty and tired, April limping along in her gauzy dress and Shredder stumbling in his blood-stained tunic. She now regretted cutting him for two reasons: one, he had turned pale with obvious blood-loss. But, more importantly, over the last hour, his eyes had grown more and more aware and alert, as the searing pain of his wounds cut across the last remnant of the sleeping drug Ancha had administered the night before. All morning he had seemed to be in a waking sleep, but now it was obvious he was coming around.  
  
April was beginning to feel dizzy with thirst and a bit hopeless when they emerged through a wall of brush and saw a dazzling sight. A great stone temple lay in a little clearing, choked with over-growth and vines, but still, offering an amount of shelter. Better, inside they could hear the trickling of water.  
  
Instinctually, they both rushed inside and found a stone fountain trickling cold, pure, sparkling water. They both knelt and greedily gulped at the stone basin, then sat back panting and looking at each other. Shredder's eyes focused on her with a curiosity that April didn't like. It was obvious he was still a bit confused, but with each passing second he seemed to become more and more aware.  
  
April sat back on the cool stone and thought hard. She had no vials of potion, no means to sedate him or drug him or whatever. This time, Shredder would wake up for real. She had two options: she could run away now and leave him here, but then she'd have no way to get the turtles back. She could tie him up...but April knew she could never get him to follow her to the Palace.   
  
While she mused, she thought it would be best to cleanse his wounds. Crawling over to him, she tore off a section of her long, gauzy dress and dipped it in the cool water and rubbed the blood of his sticky skin. He watched with keen curiosity. She ripped off another section of her dress, enjoying the coolness the lightening of the garment afforded, and bound his arm. His neck had stopped bleeding on its own.  
  
Now she sat back, looking into his eyes, wondering what she was going to do. He would be enraged when he awoke...he may even kill her...and run off. But, she told herself, with a certain dawning awareness, there was no way he could get home without her and the turtles. Something about the portal position that only Don knew. There was no trusting him...but one thing about Saki even the turtles could agree on...when it came to his own survival he was completely practical. Except, she mused, the night before when he kissed her...  
  
April sighed and she was amused to see Shredder yawn. "I guess we should just sleep," she murmured to him. "And see what happens when we wake up...I guess that all depends on you..."  
  
She leaned back onto the floor that was covered with vines and leaves, making a kind of soft bed. It was cool in the darkness and comfortable. She saw Saki sink to the floor as well. She knew she should stay alert and guard him, but how could that help in the long run? With exhaustion, she decided to leave it to chance and hope, and with a last glance across the cool darkness, she fell asleep...  
  
*********************************************  
  
"So when do you think all the chicks are going to show up and start macking on us?" Raph asked.  
  
"Shut up, Raphael," Leonardo said moodily.  
  
"No really, if I'm going to die, I want to be used as a love slave first, dammit..."  
  
"Ditto," said Mikey. "Make the best of the situation. Hey, if Shred-head's good enough..." The turtles were in a bright, circular chamber lined with shiny marble, chained to the wall at intervals, shells to the wall, facing the center.  
  
"I can't believe we got captured..." Leo murmured to himself, in obvious disbelief.  
  
"Believe it, bro," Raphael said sourly. "If we'd kicked these chicks asses way back when I suggested, they wouldn't have snuck up on us in the middle of the night and knocked us out."  
  
"Hey, but on the bright side, does that mean we're love slaves?" Mikey asked eagerly.  
  
"I don't think so," Don said quietly. "In fact, I'm beginning to wonder if that's what they really wanted to do to Shredder. I'm beginning to think they have an agenda we didn't even think of..."  
  
"I just hope April got away," Leonardo said angrily.  
  
Just then the Priestess barged into the chamber looking livid. "Your wish is granted male-creature!" She strode right up to Leonardo and struck him hard with an open hand.   
  
"Do me next, ice princess!" Mike whined, dancing around in his chains.  
  
"Yeah," said Raph. "I love it when you're moody."  
  
She whirled on the rest of them. "Shut up! Or I will cut you all to pieces!"  
  
"I guess April got away..." Leo said, trying to suppress a grin.  
  
"Yes," the Priestess said, trying to regain her composure. "She made off with the Paelo. She thinks she will hold him hostage and exchange him for you four, but she is wrong."  
  
"April took Shredder hostage?" Don said. "Hey, you've got to give the girl credit..."  
  
The Priestess drew herself to full height. "Your friend will be severely disappointed. We will take the Paelo, and we will keep you four! We have discovered a way to, ah, make all of you useful..." her voice lowered, and she placed her hand under Leonardo's chin, lifting his face.  
  
"Does that mean we get to be love slaves or what?" Raphael asked.  
  
"Hardly," the Priestess said cooly. "I think you'll find our religion has veiled something a little less tantalizing than that. But don't worry, you will serve your purpose, and so will the Paelo, and that woman will pay for her treachery! When she arrives to bargain, she we will have a little surprise!" The Priestess laughed shrilly and stormed from the room.  
  
"What the hell is she talking about?" asked Raphael.  
  
"April better not try to come back..." Leonardo said. "She better just look for the portal. Maybe she was able to get Shed-head to talk."  
  
"Maybe," said Don worriedly. "But then again, Shredder's going to come around some time, and when he does, he's not going to be very happy."  
  
**************************************************  
  
April was awakened by a slap to the face. She recoiled on the floor, holding her burning cheek, and knew what had happened before she opened her eyes. Blinking in the semi-darkness of the evening, she looked up to see Oroku Saki's face looming over her, twisted with rage. He had built a fire, and his eyes gleamed fanatically in the dancing light.  
  
"Good to see you join me, Miss O'Neil," he said coldly with an edge of rage that made her spine tingle. "I must speak with you."  
  
She sat up slowly and glanced around. She was effectively cornered in the old temple, her back to the wall. He sat just inches from her, legs crossed, spine erect, muscles bulging as he breathed deeply, apparently trying to calm himself. He glared at her with such intensity, she turned her face away.  
  
"You see, Miss O'Neil, I've had the strangest dreams. Dreams that seemed to last for days. I thought you could tell me about them." He leaned closer to her and took her face in a rough grip. "I thought you could tell me now!" he spat at her.  
  
April sighed, deciding honesty at this point might come in handy. She reminded herself that Saki prided himself on adhering to a kind of cold logic, and she put her hopes in his seeing the usefulness of keeping her alive. "Where should I start?" she said quietly.  
  
"Oh, I don't know," he said sarcastically. "Maybe when I was shot with drugs, or handled by a bunch of wenches, or perhaps, Miss O'Neil when you had me in bed..." he emphasized the last part cruelly and April found herself blushing. "I had no idea you were such a slut! I remember such bizarre things I can't even begin to think they're true..."  
  
April swallowed with disgust, but decided to tell him as much as she could bear. She began with his capture by Ancha and her troupe, explained about the Priestess and what she said about the fate of men in that world and about Shredder's predicted fate, about the journey to the Palace, and stopped, not knowing how to proceed.  
  
Saki's face had lost some its rage through her story, at one point being replaced with cold calculation. His logical nature had taken over, and his glare dissolved, replaced by a kind of thoughtfulness as he looked past her into nothingness. When she explained about the religion and the sacrifice of males, he had muttered to himself, "Of course, how could I have been so blinded..."  
  
Now, as she approached the turtle's plan to get the information out of him, she found she couldn't continue. Just the thought of the night before made her shiver.  
  
Shredder narrowed his eyes, gazing at her. "What is the matter, Miss O'Neil? Afraid to tell me about your methods of interrogation? Well, let me help you...I have a memory of you writhing under me like a cheap whore...attempting to break my discipline with your sluttish ways!"  
  
April was tired of his taunting and decided to strike back, "It wasn't much of an attempt! I dare say you gave in pretty easy!"  
  
"What?!" Saki growled, leaning closer. "What are you implying?"  
  
"Selective memory you have," April hissed, leaning forward herself, coming within inches of his face. "I simply played the coquette to get you to lower your defenses. And, boy, did it work! It only took one touch from me, one moan, and you were all over me, blubbering about how you'd always dreamed of touching me! Kissing me!"  
  
Saki's eyes widened. He had clearly not remembered his own weakness. "Shut up! You lie!"  
  
"Do I?" April whispered, and saw a spark of uncertainty dawn in his dark eyes. She realized, then, the power she really had over him. Now she lowered her voice to husky breathing. "All it took was me arching my back and rubbing my face against you...and you fell down on top of me, kissing me, groping me, putting your warm mouth over my neck and sliding your hand into my shirt..." she narrowed his eyes and put her face near his, breathing onto his cheek.  
  
"Quiet, tramp," he choked, turning away from her.  
  
April sat for a moment looking at his heaving shoulders, realizing she was treading the finest of blades. She inched toward him. "Why do you deny it? What is so horrible about wanting me?"  
  
"You are the enemy," he snapped. "A Ninja Master is not controlled by his desires! He is immune to female allure..."  
  
April reached out shakily and grasped his hand. He didn't look at her, but allowed her to lift his hand, and put it on her chest. Knowing that she was taking a great risk, but playing her only advantage, she slipped his limp hand into her shirt, and pressed it against her breast. For a moment, she felt electricity rush through her body. He turned suddenly, and with a moan of resignation, he clutched her body to his, kissing her hard. Now it was April's time to perform...she let her lips trail down his salty neck, began to move her hand down his torso...  
  
Suddenly she was thrust away with a hard slap. Saki grabbed her and shoved her hard against the cool, stone wall. "You will not trick me again, Miss O'Neil!" His hand went around her neck and began to squeeze.  
  
April struggled, but the fierceness in his eyes told her this time he meant to kill. "If you kill me.." she gasped. "...you will never get home...and you know it....only I can help you get to the turtles...and only...they can get you...out of here."  
  
For a moment, everything went black. And then suddenly she was released. She dropped to the floor, gasping as the blackness fadedaway from her eyes.  
  
He stood away from her, his voice shaking with rage. "I will let you live for now. But do not try any other of your vixen tricks." April lay on the floor looking up at him, realizing that was just what she was going to have to do if the turtles were to be rescued. Vixen tricks and then some...  
  
To Be Continued...! 


	8. The Immortals

Chapter 8  
  
April crouched in the darkness, her hands bound in front of her. The fire that Shredder had built burned brightly next to the fountain. The water glistened in the flames. He was extraordinarily angry. Across the stone floor of the temple he went, going through the fighting poses, stretching his body, and flinching as he discovered each new injury. He had shed his shirt, and his chest glistened with sweat as he kicked and spun. He stopped, panting, and held his side, slumping over. He examined the smooth skin of his lower abdomen, saw nothing amiss, and looked up.  
  
"I was injured here," he said, glaring. "What happened to it?"  
  
"They gave you a healing potion. When you awoke, it was gone..." April tilted her head, looking at his side.  
  
"Hmmph," he snorted, straightening. She could tell it still pained him, but he wasn't about to admit it. He ran his fingers across his neck to the scratch, and down his bicep, stopping at the deep gash. A fresh trickle of blood wound down his arm from his exertions. He looked up at her.  
  
"I gave you those," she said coolly.  
  
"I remember," he said. "It's a wonder you're still alive..." He closed his eyes, and stood silently, his chest expanding as he breathed, calming himself of the rage that cut through his body.  
  
April glanced at the door of the temple just a few feet away. She had to fight every urge in her just to bolt...but how could she rescue the turtles alone? The evil bastard that stood in front of her was currently the hottest property on this planet, and her only chance of getting the turtles away, and getting home. But she didn't like the way things were going. It was much better when she was in charge. What she wouldn't give for one of Ancha's potions right now...  
  
Suddenly, his dark eyes snapped open. "We must eat." He strode across the room, and scooped up the golden arrow she had carried away from the Palace. He hefted it in his hand, gauging the weight, then walked out the door into the night. April scurried to her feet and went to the door.  
  
Outside the bushes rustled with unseen creatures and strange calls. He turned, glaring at her. "You stay there." And with that, he turned and disappeared into the brush. April stood tensely, the noises in the jungle suddenly sounding too loud. She jumped as there was movement to her left, and a screech of some sort of animal. A few moments later, Saki came striding out of the brush dragging a strange kind of dog-animal, with a blue pelt. He wordlessly pushed by her at the door.  
Ten minutes later they sat across the fire from one another. Saki had expertly cleaned the flank of the dog-creature, and cut long strips of meat. He roasted one over the fire and April, who was dubious at first, was astonished at how wonderful it smelled, salty and warm. She watched him cook the strip well and then tear into it. His eyes never strayed from the fire as he chewed, consumed in thought.  
  
April's mouth was watering, but she wasn't about to ask for any. After he had eaten about half the strip, he glanced up at her, and suddenly tossed the rest over the fire. April caught the warm, crispy meat, and managed to tear some off. He picked up another strip, and began to roast it.  
  
April chewed, thinking hard, and decided it was time to level. "So, are you going to tell me where we are? What that device was? It doesn't seem to matter if I know now..."  
  
His eyes shot to hers, and he chewed more slowly, considering. "I can't imagine how chatting with you might sort all if this out..."  
  
"Really," she raised her eyebrows. "You've been knocked out most of the time here. Maybe we can put all of this together."  
  
He chewed slowly for a couple more minutes. "That device was a dimensional transporter, of sorts. I built it to come specifically to this dimension. There has been talk, and a few verified reports, of immortality here."  
  
"Immortality!" April choked for a moment on her meat. "But, that doesn't seem to be it at all. I mean, the women seem to live a long time, but they still die. Besides, I can't imagine how your sources could have missed the part about there being no men. I mean, they sleep with a man every hundred years or something and then kill him!"  
  
He looked at her sharply. "Do you really still believe that?"  
  
April paused in her chewing, suddenly feeling a cold tingle creep up her spine. "What do you mean? Do you think they do something else?"  
  
Saki stared at the fire thoughtfully. "There are many kinds of immortality, Miss O'Neil. Not all of them pleasant."  
  
****************************************************  
  
The turtles had been slumbering, still chained in the round room when the door suddenly slammed open. Waking, they blinked at the figure of the Priestess who stood with several guards. She strode into the middle of the room, glancing at each of their faces. She turned finally to Leonardo, who eyed her warily. "This one," she said pointing at him.  
One of the guards quickly strung her bow and fired a dart at Leo. He cringed as it hit his shoulder.  
  
"Leo!" Don shouted.  
  
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" cried Raphael.  
  
Leonardo looked down at the dart and suddenly felt a wash of warm weakness spread from his shoulder to the rest of his body. He slumped as the guards unshackled him from the wall and drug him toward the door.  
  
"Where are you taking him?" cried Mike as they left the room. The Priestess shut the door without a word.  
  
"Well," said Raphael. "Maybe he gets to go do the dirty with that ice bitch or something."  
  
"I wish I could believe that," Don said.   
  
Out in the hall, Leo was being drug between two guards. His mind still felt alert, and he could see and understand everything that was going on, but his limbs felt passive, complacent, as if they couldn't fight even he willed it.  
  
A dignified-looking woman, possibly another priestess of lower rank, approached the Priestess and walked with them. "Ana, what is happening?"  
  
"The Queen has grown impatient. She refuses to wait for that man to be found. We have discovered that these creatures are male, and she insists that we try..."  
  
"But, Ana! It will never work! They are half-animal."  
  
"It does not matter, Crea. The Queen insists. She is growing weaker each day and becomes petulant. I suppose it will not hurt to try."  
  
*********************************************************  
  
"What do you mean, Shredder? How can there be different types of immortality. To live forever is to live forever."  
  
Shredder looked hard at her. "Yes, that is true. But the sources of the immortality vary greatly. Life is an energy that cannot be destroyed, much as Einstein described it. I know it must be difficult for your Western mind to comprehend, but the ancient Eastern philosophers were correct, to a degree. When living things die, their energy is transferred back to the great continuum which underlies the Universe. But, there are some who have discovered how to conserve their energy, to contain it against its desire to return to the primal flow. That is one "form" of immortality. But there are many others. Some through ancient methods have learned to draw directly from the primal flow. Others, have learned to take energy from others..."  
  
*******************************************************   
  
"Bring it before me."  
  
Leonardo was in the most ornate chamber he had ever seen. Through his fog-laden eyes he could make out a shiny marble floors, golden pillars and a crystal throne bedecked with scarlet silk that hung from the ceiling. Around him, the guards knelt low to the floor, and even Ana, the Priestess, knelt demurely on one knee. Leo squinted at the figure that sat in the throne. All he could make out was a tall, feminine form, completely covered in white gauze. The guards rose and pushed Leo right up to the figure, forcing him to kneel.  
  
"It is more animal than I thought." The Queen said. Her voice was ancient, cracking, and possessed of immense power. Leo felt himself sway when she spoke.  
  
"I know, oh Queen," Ana said, standing next to Leo. "But they are most certainly male. I am not sure if he can be properly tapped, but only the Goddess knows."  
  
The figure in the gauze sat silent a moment. "Give him the Amorn potion."  
************************************************************  
  
"What are you saying?" April cried. "How in the hell could you think that these women are, what, drinking energy from men? They said themselves that they sleep with the man, the Royal court produces children, and they send them out among the commoners. How could that happen if...if...?"  
  
"You really are not putting your journalistic skills to use, Miss O'Neil." He sat back on the stone, and even smiled faintly. "It sounds like a likely story, does it not? Killing all the men because they are evil, and then making a few babies once a century or so? But consider something else. When you consume another creature's energy, you grow young again. Could that, perhaps, account for the "children"? It also seems strange to kill all the men, despite the women's longevity. What could motivate such a slaughter? But, what if it was something else? What if it was GREED? What if the females of this race discovered they could remain young forever by drinking the energy of their men? I can only think of one thing that would cause a race of women to so recklessly slaughter all their males, even to the last one...the desire to remain young forever."  
  
********************************************************************  
  
A vial was held to Leonardo's lips and could not but drink. As he did, he felt a heat spread through his body of the likes he had never experienced. He felt charged with a kind of energy, a warmth that allowed him to feel the heat of all the bodies that surrounded him. He was suddenly very aware of all the women who knelt around him who were now muttering a kind of chant below their breaths and looking up at him with dewy eyes.  
  
He was pressed forward to the gauzy figure, and moved along with the pressure, drawn by the Queen. He came up to her face, trembling with desire, and found his hands groping the veil that covered her face. Pulling it away he was rocked with surprise. The face was old, ancient, deeply creviced with wrinkles. Two watery, gray eyes peered out, but Leo found that he couldn't pull away, that he desired to lean down, press his mouth against those ancient, crusted lips.  
  
As he did a wave stabbing fire went down his gullet, and he was paralyzed with pulses of pain. Her clawed hands gripped at his shoulder, and for untold moments Leo felt that his very soul was being ripped out of his body, that it was losing its moorings, that his very cells were coming apart, and that he could feel each tear.  
  
*******************************************************  
  
"Do you think that's what they wanted to do to you? To the turtles?" April cried. "I don't believe it." But as she thought about it, it began to make more sense, a kind of horrible rationality unfolded before her. The way that the Priestess treated Shredder had been different than Ancha, who had certainly believed the "myths" about the war with men and the sacred union between the Queen and a man. But the Priestess wanted something else, that was clear. And what Ancha had said when she had come to the chamber that morning. That she suspected the legends were false, and that the Priestess had horrible things planned. What could it mean?  
  
"I could be wrong," Saki said. He steepled his fingers and concentrated on the fire. "I'm deducing this from what you told me...but, if there is a kind of immortality to be found here, it is none that I could access." His eyes flickered to hers. "But perhaps you could."  
  
"No..no I think you may be right. I am thinking back to all the strange things, the way the Priestess acted, the way Ancha said she suspected something. Oh my God! The turtles!"  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Suddenly the old Queen shrieked and shoved the Leonardo away, where he tumbled down the steps and fell hard on the floor, trembling with residual pain. The Queen was clutching her face and coughing, gripping her throne. "It did not work! They are too animal!"  
  
Ancha came forward with a look of concern on her face. "Are you all right, my Queen?"  
  
"Yes!" the twisted figure spat. "For all the good it did! I must have that man! I must!"  
  
From where Leo lay on the ground he could see the rage contort the old woman's face further, making her look almost like a demon.  
  
"We will have him soon, oh Queen," the Priestess soothed.  
  
"You had better, Priestess!" the crone narrowed her watery eyes. "You said he was handsome?"  
  
"Very. A most fine specimen in his prime. A warrior."  
  
"Yes...a warrior. He should have enough to bring me to my youth, and to dose the rest of the court into their days of glory. He will need to be a warrior to withstand the pain! You, animal-creature! Did you not feel the burn? The horrific pain? Your friend, the man, will experience ten times that! He will have his very soul ripped from his body again and again until we have drunk our fill!"  
  
Leo sat up, dazed. "He is not our friend. He is our sworn enemy."  
  
"Is that so?" cried the Queen. "Then perhaps you will help us? We will let you, your brothers and your little woman friend all go. She thinks she will bargain with him, that she will trade? Perhaps we can trade. Play along, my little green friend, help us to get hold of that luscious piece of manhood, and we will let you all go! And then your enemy will suffer as none has ever suffered before!"   
  
From where Leo sat, surrounded by these women, it seemed like a very good deal. "All right. We will help you get Shredder. And then you let us leave."  
  
"Of course," said the Queen. "You are useless to us! But him! He is what we need to survive into the next century! He will bring me back to my youth! We will drain him until he is merely a crust! Ha ha ha!"  
  
****************************************************  
  
April sat, tucking her bound hands around her knees, thinking hard. "I really think you may be right."  
  
"Of course I'm right," he said haughtily. "What a huge mistake this whole thing was. Oh well, many other dimensions to mine for treasures..."  
  
April glared at him across the fire. "So, it's immortality you're after?"  
  
"Why not?" he murmured. "With eternal life, I'll have all the time to conquer at my leisure."  
  
April snorted. "And what a life that would be! All alone up at the top forever and ever! Sounds more like hell to me."  
  
Shredder just gazed at her and said nothing for a moment. He finally spoke, "It is my affair."  
  
"Really? Do you really think you would be content to live an eternal life as some sort of God, all alone? Do you think you could find satisfaction in an unchanging world? Mortality has its purposes Oroku Saki. The knowledge of our impending deaths makes us appreciate each passing day, value our friendships, work to build relationships with others, understand love and all that is precious in life. I suspect these are things you have never discovered, never had."  
  
He gazed across the fire at her, his face impassive.  
  
She continued, leaning toward him. "Well, I guess it makes sense then. If all you've ever known is hate and ambition, if you've only lived on rage and revenge, then you would not know what you are losing. If you have never known love, you would not understand the power of the passage of time." She stopped for a moment, lowering her voice. "But you do not fool me, Oroku Saki. I discovered something last night I probably didn't ever want to know. That you are still a human being, despite your villainy. That you still have desires...and the need to be touched."  
  
"That is enough, Miss O'Neil. You are boring me."  
  
April would not stop. "What did you feel when you kissed me last night? Or just an hour ago..."  
  
"It was a lapse of judgment."  
  
"It didn't feel that way. It felt as if you needed to be touched. It felt as if you desired another human being close...like you were thirsty for me..."  
  
Saki held up his hand. "You say dangerous things, Miss O'Neil. I am a trained warrior, taught to suppress all those disabling emotions of which you speak. They make you weak and cloud your thought. And what of your precious turtles? If they could hear you now, Miss O'Neil. Preaching love to ME! Bah! I am bored with this. I am going to sleep."  
  
He slowly laid down on the stones, on his side facing her. April looked into the fire and felt shame at the words she was just saying. Who the hell was she trying to convince? Him? Or herself? She too, slowly lowered herself to the floor. Their faces were only a foot from each other, their bodies curled around the fire. His eyes continued to gaze stonily into hers and she refused to blink. Then, his eyes fluttered, and closed.   
  
What could it mean? These strange feelings that were surging through her body. She tentatively raised her hand and reached out to his face. She stopped just an inch from his skin and hesitated. Then she brought her hand back. Was she trying to convince herself he could feel? That he was human? What could be the reason for that?  
To Be Continued.....!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	9. The Subtle Sai

Chapter 9  
April awoke with a slight sound in the distance, something familiar, the whoosh of weapons, the cadence of practice, and for a moment she thought she might have spent the night in the Turtle's lair. But she wasn't on the couch. She opened her eyes and saw the flowing fountain and the cold walls of the Temple and it all came back in stages, as fantastic as it seemed. She sat up off the hard, stone floor, aching and stretched her bound hands out in front of her, looking through the arched Temple doorway to the green grass and sunlight beyond. In and out of the frame of the doorway she saw Oroku Saki pass on the grass, shirt off, sweat glistening off his skin. He wielded the golden arrow and spun in and out of view, a bizarrely graceful, and ultimately terrifying, dance.  
  
She heard him approach the doorway, and she lay back down, not wanting to deal with him, or reality.  
  
She could hear his steps across the stone floor and she tensed when they came near. Audibly he disappeared, and she couldn't track where he was.   
  
She started when a voice sounded in her ear. "You're awake, Miss O'Neil. And not very good at concealing it."  
  
She sat up and saw he knelt right beside her. He was still a terrifying sight, dark hair swept over his eyes, dark and inscrutable, and his muscles bulging as he breathed hard after the work out.  
  
She glared at him and held out her bound hands. "Is this really necessary? I'm not going anywhere."  
  
"How do I know you don't have any of your whoring potions hidden away?" He gazed calmly at her.   
  
April blinked. Was he trying to be funny? "Look, what are we going to do? I think we've figured out what those women's plans are, both with you and turtles. But the fact remains you can't get out of here without them."  
  
"That's not precisely true," he growled. "There is something I need, yes. But it is hardly your vile little friends."  
  
"But you need the position of the portal from Don. You can't find it...or is there something you're not telling me?" April paused, thinking fast. "Even so...you obviously still need them, or you wouldn't have bothered getting so angry last night or keeping me around. So, there only seems to be one course of action."  
  
"And what would that be?" he said. Was that amusement in his voice?  
  
"It's rather obvious. We have to go back to the palace. I have to appear to have you prisoner, and that I'm bargaining for the turtles. And, when they release them, we all get out."  
  
"A likely plan," Saki snorted. "As it involves you holding a knife to my throat. Do you really think I'll trust myself to your acting abilities and the good will of those wretched turtles? You must think I'm a fool."  
  
"Fine," April said, exasperated. "Tell me a better plan. I guess you could scour this entire jungle to find the invisible portal. But, I think it's more likely that you'll be caught pretty quickly by a bunch of ladies hiding in the bushes with poison arrows. At this moment, you've got an entire civilization out to get you."  
  
Saki glared at her and reared up from the floor. He paced around for a second or two, and April understood that he began to see that her option was the only one.  
  
Suddenly, he turned and came at her with the golden arrow. She flinched as he grabbed her wrists roughly. But her merely cut through the bonds. She rubbed her wrists as he tossed the arrow at her feet. "And how would you do this? How would you convince them?"  
  
April rose to the challenge resolutely. She stood, hefting the arrow and walked fearlessly up to Shredder. She stood a moment before him, inches from where her eyes came level to his neck, and glanced up into his dark eyes. Then, she stepped around behind him. Her eyes were now level with his upper back muscles. He continued to look forward. Slowly, she came to his side, and slid a shaking left hand onto his abdomen, feeling along the hard muscles and also brought the tip of the arrow against his neck, just where the skin pulsed faintly. She stood for a moment, feeling confident.  
  
But, Saki suddenly spun, and in a flash, he had disarmed her, painfully pulled her arms behind her back and now pressed the arrow to her neck. They were face to face, and April gasped with anger and terror. His eyes glared into hers. "Not very convincing Miss O'Neil. Now, allow me to ask you a question. There was a sai, that abominable night in the bedroom. You struck me with it. May I ask where it is?"  
  
A sai? What the hell was he talking about? Her mind raced to the scene in the bedroom. She had struck him with Raph's sai. And later, it had skittered under the bed after an archer had hit in from her hand. It could very well still be there. "Why?"  
  
Saki tightened his grip. "You will not ask me questions! Where is it!"  
  
April glared at him. "Tell me, and I'll tell you where it is."  
  
He pressed the arrow harder against her neck, and April yelped when it pierced her skin. And then, as if by a miracle, his body jerked and his eyes widened. He released her and stumbled a few steps back, dropping the arrow, and sat down clumsily on the ground.  
  
April stared dumbly for a moment. And then Ancha stepped through the doorway, lowering her bow. "I was afraid the Paelo would be up to trickery once the potion had worn off."  
  
Saki sat on the ground gasping. He stared dumbly up at the tall warrior who approached him and plucked a small dart from his shoulder. "What witchery is this?" he cried.  
  
"Merely a stillness dart. You will not move until we tell you, as it should be between men and women." Ancha said angrily. "Are you all right April? He did not harm you?"  
  
"No, Ancha. Thank you so much...but, what are you doing here?"  
  
"I come bearing a message from the Queen, and I think it worth your while to listen." She sat down next to the seething Shredder who clearly was struggling to move, but could only sit dumbly. April sat down as well. They made an odd little council.  
  
Ancha began. "She has attempted to gain union with one of your friends..." At this April gasped, but Ancha held her hand up. "But it did not work. I am still not privy as to how this union is achieved, although I now know it has little to do with the pleasures we are promised in the holy songs." With this statement, she cast a rueful and lingering glance at Saki's shirt-less body. "All of this aside, the Queen now believes your interests lie more with your tawdi than the Paelo, and that you would truly be willing to trade him for your friends."  
  
April glanced at Saki's angry face but looked back at Ancha. "Of course. He is our enemy, we merely want to leave. Of course she can have him." At this, Shredder muttered "bitch" under his breath.  
  
Ancha sighed. "I thought this would be the case. As such, you will be given free passage tonight to have audience with the Queen. The Paelo can then be formally relinquished for the lives of your friends...April, I would not have come here unless I believed her. I told you I suspect many foul things...but I still must accept that however it is utilized, the Paelo is still the life-source of my people. It is shameful that it is not renewed through an act of love, but, however it must pass, my people must have this creature to survive."  
  
April nodded, her mind racing. "I will bring him tonight."  
  
Ancha nodded. "As such, I leave you with a potion. He will be made as weak as a child, although his wits will still be about him. Thus, the hatred between you will remain apparent, and none shall suspect you of deception. You can walk him to the Palace, and there you will receive your friends." Ancha handed April a small dart and then she rose. "I must leave and not return to the Palace for hours yet. I must, of course, make it appear as if it was difficult to find you." She smiled slightly.  
  
"Thank you for everything, Ancha."   
  
Ancha smiled briefly, but threw a quick sad glance at Saki before departing.  
  
"You treacherous bitch!" Saki growled.  
  
April stood, glaring down at him, filled with a sudden power. She walked toward him, and thrust him to the ground with a push. He fell helplessly and she knelt over him, a hand on each shoulder.  
  
"You will tell me about the sai now."  
  
"Ha!" he said, his head rolling to side the pathetically. April sighed and took his face in her hands, turning it back to face her. His eyes were watering with frustration. "Listen to me, Shredder. My offer still stands. We will take you with us. If you tell me about what the sai has to do with getting us home. If you tell me this, we will go through with the plan I suggested this morning. I will appear to hand you over, but we will all leave together. If you do not, I will turn you over for real, the turtles will be released, and we will take our chances. Your fate, however, will be quite sealed." She paused for a moment. "Besides, I think with just the hint about the sai, Don could probably figure out how to get home."  
  
Saki stared up at her aghast. It was dawning on him that she had complete power in this situation. "Miss O'Neil...April....if I do tell you, will you swear an oath of honor not to abandon me to those demons?"  
  
April understood the depth of a such an oath, an oath which even Saki was known to keep. "Yes," she said, and meant it.  
  
He glared at her for another moment before speaking. "I knew it when you hit me with that sai. I could taste in the metal that it had been electrified at some point. I knew it had been the sai that hit the dimensional transporter that sent us here. It is the key to opening the portal. The energy that coursed through it made it capable of cutting through dimensions. It will, once the place of the portal is discovered, cut right through the air and open a path home."  
  
"Of course," April breathed. And they had had it all along! And she had lost it! How simple it was! She released his face, and his head lolled to the side. He was gasping with anger, frustration and effort, completely unable to move.   
  
"I can't move!" he stuttered in a panic.  
  
It dawned on April how utterly helpless he was, at the mercy of his enemies, subject to strange potions. As a ninja, his greatest sense of control came from his finely tuned body, his razor sharp coordination, and now he had lost it all. She reached down and steadied his head again, so he could see her. "It will wear off soon, don't worry," she said in a quiet voice. His eyes were wild with panic. She found herself stroking his forehead, running her fingers over his cheek. "Calm down...it's ok...you know I meant what I said. No matter what happens, we will take you with us. And then, hey, we can be enemies all over again...no more potions. Just good old fighting again on an even playing field."  
  
His eyes were fluttering, the potion taking a stronger hold on his being, forcing him to sleep. She placed his head gently on his side and let him sleep, letting her finger rest lightly on his lips for just a moment. Geez, she thought to herself. The sooner I get away from him, the better. I'm getting a genuine soft spot for this big brute. She stepped out of the temple into the sunlight so she could plan better for that evening when she would have to save the turtles, herself, and Shredder, for better or worse.  
  
************************************************  
  
  
"You have got to be joking!" cried Mike. "That is, like, so weird! She tried to suck your soul out or something?"  
  
"Not quite," Don said mulling over Leo's story of his encounter with the Queen. "It sounds more like they feed off the energy of male creatures to remain young...although it is now clear they can only feed off human men."  
  
"Sounds like Shred-head will be the Monday night special then" Raph said sourly.  
  
"That's exactly right," Leonardo said. "And we're going to make sure he is. According to the Queen, Ancha has been sent out to convey the offer to April. She should be bringing him back to the Palace tonight. He'll probably try to pull something, but I've agreed, in good faith, to make sure they capture him. And then we can leave. As long as April made Shred-head talk about how to get home, we're golden."  
  
They were sitting in the same round chamber as before, but they had been released from their fetters. Striking the deal with the Queen had improved their situation greatly. While still locked up, they were now feasting on a decent spread of food given as a sign of good will. And they were told that in the evening their weapons would be returned to them so they could subdue Shredder in front of the crowd, appeasing them, and reaffirming the Queen's power.  
  
Don munched silently for a moment. "How can we trust her?"  
  
Leo shrugged. "I don't think we have much choice. But to be honest, they don't have any use for us now. This whole thing is going to go down in front of the entire court. Apparently there has been rumors flying around about their religion, about how it's not all what it's cracked up to be. By doing this formal trade in front of the court, and letting us go, they'll be reaffirming their cover story about their "honorable" acquisition of men, and everyone's happy."  
  
Don blinked. "But for one person...I mean, can we really turn Saki over to these women?"  
  
Raph reached out and knocked Don on the head. "Ouch!"  
  
"Well, you asked a stupid question." Raph said, reaching for another piece of cheese.  
  
Leo sighed. "I made a promise. It's simply come down to us or him. And if that's the case, I don't feel a bit bad about turning Can-Head over to these women." As Leo said this, he had a moment where the demonic laughter of the Queen rang out in his head, promising Shredder pain worse than any had ever experienced, but he dampened the thought and put it away deep in his heart. It was us or him, he repeated to himself, and he almost believed it.  
  
******************************  
  
Author's Note: Thanks so much for all the reviews! I read them closely and try to pay attention to the suggestions...after all, I don't write this crazy stuff for myself! The last couple chapters had to be a little slow to set up what, I'm sure you'll gather, will be quite a scene in the Palace. The hope was to get the angst up to the proper pitch and test everyone's loyalties and morals to the limit...let me know what you think so I can get myself together to write the next bit. Peace out!  
  
(P.S: and I'm sure loyal readers might catch a shameless reference to another wonderful series of books in this chapter.) 


	10. Good and Evil

Chapter 10  
  
April sat on the threshold of the Temple, gauging the time by the sinking sun. Outside, the overly large orb was sinking in the east, casting a deep crimson glow over the top of the jungle, and deepening the shadows among the brush of the canopy. Evening was unrolling across the thick greenery of the valley, and with it, the worry over the prospect of a confrontation at the Palace deepened.  
  
April glanced inside the darkness of the Temple to where a figure sat propped against the wall. About a half hour before, Saki had regained some movement, and had dragged himself over to the wall and hoisted himself against the stone. She supposed he found it a little more dignified than being splayed on his back on the floor. She could see his eyes glinting as he stared at her.  
  
April glanced down to her hand where she held the dart that Ancha had given her. It was supposed to render Saki unable to resist her commands, so she could lead him to the Palace and turn him over to the Queen. But, something about that bothered her. Well, she thought, I can't avoid this forever, and we must leave soon. She stood and walked into the Temple.  
  
As she did, Saki struggled to his feet and leaned against the wall, as if defending himself against her. April sighed, "At ease, soldier. Let's have a think about tonight, ok?"  
  
"What is there to discuss," Saki said angrily, eyeing the dart in her hand. It dawned on April that if she was going to use it, she would have to soon, as he was regaining his strength every second.  
  
She glanced at the dart in her hand and back up to his face. "Look, I took an oath to make sure you get out of the Palace with us tonight. If you swear something similar to me, this," she gestured down at the dart, "may not be necessary."  
  
He narrowed his eyes with suspicion and said nothing.  
  
"Please!" April spat. "If any one at all should be suspicious, it should be me! After all, you're the bad guy! I'm actually considering not drugging you up. To be plain, it doesn't seem right considering how badly these women want you and what they plan to do. It doesn't seem right that shouldn't be able to defend yourself..."  
  
Saki blinked and his face became impassive and calculating. "What do you want to hear from me?"  
  
"OK," April said slowly. "I want you to swear on your honor as a ninja not to harm myself or the Turtles while we are all trying to escape. We need to be all on the same side to get out of here in one piece. Do you swear?"  
  
There was a moment of silence as he considered. April knew that on many levels Saki operated on a utilitarian ethic, and he would be considering all the scenarios and possible consequences of making such an oath. At last, he spoke, "I swear it. I pledge a temporary alliance with you, and those annoying turtles, until we have escaped this world." He paused, looking at her very carefully, and for a moment April sensed something else going on in his gaze. It wasn't a flicker of deception, it was something else...but she couldn't place it. "Will that suffice?" he asked.  
  
"Yes," April said. "Geez, don't make me regret this." She tossed the dart to the ground and there was a moment when she half expected him to lunge at her, but he didn't move at all.  
  
"Well," April said, a bit helplessly. "Can you walk? It's at least a two hour walk to the Palace, and it will be dark soon."  
  
Saki was silent a moment, and then he attempted to step forward and stumbled. April reached out to steady him. She could tell he was completely annoyed by his immobility. "I can almost walk...just a little help at first..."  
  
He was leaning on her, and his face was just inches from hers, and completely unreadable. April couldn't decide if this was a bad thing or a good thing. "Well, let's go." She stooped and picked up the golden arrow, their one feeble weapon, and concealed it in the folds of her tattered gown. She grasped Shredder's arm and helped him into the deepening purple evening.  
  
They started through the brush, and April tried to suppress her sense of growing panic at the situation. Her dearest friends, the turtles, were being held captive by terrible warriors. Their most hated enemy, the Shredder, was currently their only ally, and currently leaning up against her as they walked through a dark and forbidding forest. And, he was rapidly regaining his strength. She began to wonder if she made the right decision.  
  
"You know," Saki said suddenly as they walked. "You did something very clever."  
  
"I don't know about that," April muttered breathily, as she labored to support him.  
  
"If you had tried to drug me again, I would have resisted you and done all I could to destroy the turtles for your treachery," he said, his voice cool. "But, in soliciting an oath, you are assured my cooperation." He paused, and she could feel his eyes on her again. "You do understand that, Miss O'Neil? My honor will not be compromised, and, for this night at least, you have nothing to fear from me."  
  
April said nothing. She wanted to believe him, but could not. Yet, she was surprised at his candidness. Especially because the dart she had so dramatically tossed on the ground was spent, and the real dart Ancha gave her was well-hidden in a pocket, just in case.  
  
*********************************************************  
  
"When do we get our weapons back?" Raphael asked, impatiently pacing around the round, marble chamber. Every few steps he did a leaping side kick in his frustration. "I can't wait to get a hold of my sais."  
  
"Tonight," a female voice said.  
  
The turtles looked up to see the Priestess standing in the doorway, accompanied by Ancha, and a couple of well-armed guards. The Priestess strode into the center of the chamber, standing in the shaft of late evening light slanting through the central sky light. She glowed a strange red from the setting sun, and her face was set with cunning.  
  
"Your friend has accepted our Queen's offer of a trade," the Priestess said slowly. "Ancha found them deep in the forest. The Paelo was apparently not harmed."  
  
"Shredder not harmed!" Leonardo said angrily, taking a couple steps forward. The two guards standing behind the Priestess raised their golden bows and Leo stopped. "I don't think it's your precious "paelo" you have to worry about. How many times do we have to tell you he is a very dangerous man?"  
  
"This was taken into account," the Priestess answered, pursing her lips. "Ancha has given your friend a will-taking dart. The Paelo should be well-drugged." She stopped for a moment, and eyed each of the turtles carefully. "We will be taking you all to the audience chamber shortly. One thing must be clear, my little tawdi. Everything must go according to our agreement. You shall subdue the paelo in front of the court and present him to our Queen. Then, and only then, will you be allowed to leave. If you try anything, anything at all that deviates from our agreement, and we will imprison you all. And then," she said, turning to leave. "you will be at the mercy of our Queen." The Priestess swept from the chamber, followed by the two guards.  
  
Ancha lingered for a moment. "Your friend is very brave. Do not risk her life, or the future of my race, by doing anything foolish."  
  
"What would we do?" Leo said. "I'm tired of being in this mess, all because of Shredder. I say good riddance."  
  
"I just hope your friend feels the same way," Ancha said quietly, before turning to leave.  
  
"What the hell was that supposed to mean?" Raphael asked. "I mean, I don't even know what April has had to put up with from Shred-head for the past day, but I probably don't want to know. If there's anyone at all who will be glad to get rid of him, it'll be her."  
  
"Ditto, dude," Mike said, practicing a few punches at an invisible warrior woman. "Just think of it. We've been stuck in here forever, but she's been dealing with Shredder! I'm surprised she didn't just kick his ass when she could."  
  
Leonardo was pacing himself, tired of being cooped up. "I'm sure April's been taking care of herself just fine. I just hope Shredder behaves himself tonight. And if he doesn't? We'll just have to teach him some manners."  
  
**************************************************************  
  
April was feeling worse and worse about her decision not to drug Shedder. He had regained his strength fully about an hour before, letting her know by roughly shoving her away from where she had been supporting him. He had stretched, glanced at her grimly, and started off into the brush brusquely. She had spent the last hour trying to keep up.  
  
She stopped for a moment, panting, and listening hard for the sound of him pushing through the brush. With a rising panic, she realized she couldn't hear him anymore. Shit, she thought to herself. Had he slipped away from her? In the darkness, she could see the lights of the White City vaguely through the leaves. They had been growing brighter for the last hour, and as she stood beneath the canopy of dark leaves, she could almost make out the white lance of the main tower rising in the night. They were close...where the hell did he go?  
  
"Saki," she hissed. There was no answer in the darkness, and she had to fight the wave of panic growing in her gut. "Shredder!" she cried out in frustration.  
  
Suddenly, a warm hand went over her mouth and a muscular arm wound about her middle.  
  
"Shhhh." he whispered in her ear. April sighed and started to berate him. "Where did you go...mmmph." He tightened his hand over her mouth and crushed her tightly against him to hold her still. "Quiet!" he whispered.  
  
April started to struggle again but stopped. She heard something. They listened as the sound of footsteps crunched through the leaves just through the brush. "A patrol. Two. Lightly armed." He whispered.  
  
April listened hard, but could only hear random rustlings. She couldn't see a thing. How could he tell that? Silently, he spun her around to face him and backed her against a tree. Keeping his hand over her mouth, trapping her body with the length of his arm, he brought his face close to hers. What the hell was he doing? He brought his free hand up to her neck and lightly brushed the slick skin. April began to struggle...what the heck? Was he trying to feel her up?  
  
The hand on her neck trailed down her shirt, and April's eyes grew wide as the fingers lightly worked their way down her chest, feeling along the skin. Her eyes didn't leave his, which bore down on her with a kind of cool amusement. Suddenly, the hand darted deep into the garment, and extracted the golden arrow. He backed away from her.  
  
April fell against the tree, gasping. "You bastard!" she hissed.   
  
He put his finger up to his lips. "Shhhh." he said, smiled strangely and disappeared into the trees. There was a slight, muffled shriek, two thumping sounds, then silence. April stood, breathing hard, listening. Suddenly, Saki appeared in the brush, carrying a handful of arrows. He strode up to her, and handed one back to her. "Here's yours back."  
  
She grabbed it away from him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She hissed, slipping the arrow back down her dress.  
  
He was testing a few of the arrows, bending them and checking their strength. Dropping the rest on the ground, he chose two and slipped them into the legs of his pants. "You didn't think I'd go in there unarmed, did you?"  
  
"What happened to those guards?"  
  
"They will not trouble us." She glared at him, and he sighed. "I bound them, ok?"  
  
April stood for a moment, staring at him. Slowly, her hand crept into her garment, and she fingered the dart Ancha had given her, making sure it was still secure. She may need it after all, she thought to herself.  
  
"Come," he reached out and grasped her wrist hard, yanking her forward. "And be quiet."  
  
"What are you doing? The path to the Palace is this way..."  
  
"We are not going to march right into their little party."  
  
"What?" April yanked her hand from his, and stood close to his chest, glaring up into his dark eyes. "We had a deal. We are going to play this straight. We walk in with you as my prisoner, we get the turtles, and we all escape."  
  
"Yes," he said, impatiently, grabbing her arm again and yanking her into step with him. "But we will not walk right into their hands in case they are planning not to be civil. We shall appear in the chamber, yes. But, we shall appear unexpectedly. You do not know much about these sorts of things, Miss O'Neil, or you would have thought of this."  
  
April scowled, but let herself be pulled along. It was clear to her now who was in charge, and she wasn't liking it one bit.  
  
***************************************************************   
  
The turtles were being led into the audience chamber. Long flanks of golden-garbed guards stood at either side of the immense, marble hall. Ancha walked before them, apparently in ceremonial garb. She wore a golden helmet, and a golden-netted shawl over one shoulder, but was well-armed with a long, limber bow.   
  
"She is looking way hot, bro," Mike whispered to Raphael, nodding at Ancha.  
  
"Yeah, I guess," Raph whispered back. "All I'm thinking right now is that we can take out these chicks right now. No weapons needed."  
  
Leo glanced back at Raphael. "Quiet, Raph. We can't risk it. We still don't know where April is..."  
  
"More importantly," Don said, glancing around at the large hall with apprehension. "We still don't know how to get home." He looked at each of the turtles in turn. "Remember, we can't make a move on Shred-head until we've confirmed from April that she's gotten how to get home out of him."  
  
"I'm sure she has," Mike said cheerfully. "Womanly wiles and all that..."  
  
"Oh, shit, Mike," Raph said gagging. "Don't gross me out with a thought like that."  
  
"We still need to make sure," Don said. "Because if she hasn't found out how to get home, then..."  
  
"We improvise," Leo said firmly.  
  
They had reached the huge, golden doors of the audience chamber. Ancha spun and eyed the turtles carefully. "You will show due respect to the Queen."  
  
The doors swung open, and they all marched into a cavernous, white marble chamber filled with a crowd of women wearing shining golden gowns. A red carpet wound down the center of the crowd to a large, crystal throne. A figure, completely obscured by gauze lounged on the throne, flanked by some tall women wearing golden head-dresses, including a woman all the turtles recognized. The Priestess.  
  
"Shit, man," Raphael said.  
  
Leo shuddered as he remember his previous unpleasant encounter with the Queen. "Stay alert, guys. This could get ugly."  
  
They walked through the crowd of women who gazed at them with curiosity, and maybe even a little hunger, and approached the Queen, stopping about thirty feet away.  
  
Ancha and her troupe knelt low to the ground. She glanced back at the turtles, who stood agog at the regal surroundings. "Kneel!" she hissed.  
  
The turtles glanced at each other wearily, and knelt.  
  
A voice like silk tumbled down from the throne, weaving its way through the air, almost coming from all places at once. "So...these are tawdi who have borne our Paelo to us through the forest from lands beyond the black mountains. We await only your friend, who will present the Paelo to us, as it is written in our ancient texts. Do you agree to subdue him for our glory?"  
  
Leo looked up at the blank face of gauze, not liking the fear it elicited. "Yes, O Queen."  
  
"So, it seems we must simply wait. I do hope, for your sakes, your friend does not dawdle." The voice wound around the room and the timbre finally evaporated, leaving an uneasy silence.  
  
******************************************************  
  
April and Shredder were watching this scene from a crevice at the side of the hall. They were wedged tightly into the small space, almost chest to chest. "I don't like this," Saki hissed, taking in the scene carefully, his mind working.  
  
April glared up at him. She didn't like anything about this. Shredder had proven himself more in charge of the situation then she would have liked. In the last twenty minutes they had stealthily snuck into the Palace, Saki taking out guards silently as it was needed. She had watched him take out four standing in an antechamber of the audience room with such ease, that she began to fear he would be impossible to control should he try to break his oath. He was like a well-tuned machine, silent, powerful and deadly. For a moment, her hand wandered inside her dress to where Ancha's dart lay concealed. She could do it now, drug him and...   
  
But, as she gazed up at the thick muscles of his neck and smooth face, she couldn't help but notice the real worry in his eyes. After all, he was literally walking into the lion's den here. These women wanted to capture him and suck the life out of him, kill him. Her hand wandered away from the dart, but she was torn.  
  
His eyes suddenly snapped to hers, and she was struck by their intensity. "This is it," he whispered. "I only ask that you act honorably."  
  
April opened her mouth in amazement. "Isn't that what I'm supposed to say?" she whispered. "You're the bad guy!"  
  
"Miss O'Neil," he whispered softly, and he lifted his hand lightly and touched her cheek. "That is all a matter of relativity. Bad, good, evil, pure...all of these things are a matter of perspective."  
  
"Well, from where I'm standing," she whispered. "You're still the bad guy."  
  
He surprised her by smiling lightly. Then, to April's shock, he leaned close and brushed her lips softly with his. April felt warmth flood her abdomen, felt the nerves of her skin respond to his touch against their will. He pulled back and gazed at her ambiguously.  
  
"What..." she sputtered. "What do you think..."  
  
"That was nothing," he whispered, coolly. "I sense this odd state of affairs is about to change, and I thought I might, er, take advantage of them one last time. I am, after all, the bad guy."  
  
April blinked, a million different emotions wrestling for control. She looked past the intensity of his gaze, through the slight view afforded by the crevice to where the turtles knelt before the Queen. She organized her thoughts quickly and fought back the confused emotions wailing in her head. The turtles were all that mattered. She would do what she had to to save them. That was all.  
  
She reached into her garment and withdrew the golden arrow and placed it firmly against the artery pulsing in his neck. His eyes fluttered with its touch, and he put his hand over hers. "Careful..."  
  
"Let's go," she said firmly. "Look drugged. Do you think you can manage that?" With that, she shoved him out of the crevice and into the massiveness of the hall.  
  
***********************************************************  
  
There were gasps from the crowd of women, who parted to let her through the masses. The turtles rose quickly and took in the bizarre spectacle of April leading a drugged-up Shredder by the arm with an arrow to his neck. They looked like they'd been through hell. April's hair was all tangled, her gown soiled and torn. Saki, without his armor or helmet, still looked intimidating, but his gi was torn and slightly bloodied. He had a gash on his neck and bicep. He stumbled a little, and was glaring savagely around him. "Way to go, April," Mike said gleefully.   
  
They came before the turtles, while Ancha's troupe backed away, then spun and faced the Queen. The Queen gasped, taking in Oroku Saki for the first time. "My Gods, he is so beautiful." Shredder glared up at her with vehemence. The Queen cackled at his look. "And so willful!"   
  
"I have brought your Paelo. Now, give my friends their weapons back." April ordered.  
  
"Of course, little female. Your friends will need them to subdue the Paelo and bring him before us." The Queen's voice said mockingly.  
  
Two guards came forward bearing the turtle's weapons, and went behind April and Saki. Both of their eyes followed the pair of sais in one of the guard's hands. She could hear gasps of pleasure from the turtles as they took back their weapons, and there were whooshing sounds as they tried them out. "Bodacious!" Mike said, whirling his chucks. "That never felt so good."  
  
"Now what?" whispered Don, as he twirled his bo.  
  
Leo edged up to April and whispered in her ear. "April, did he tell you how to get home?"  
  
April glanced over her shoulder, "Yes, but..."  
  
"Good," Leo said simply, and then surprised April by grabbing her shoulder and yanking her away from Saki hard. He turned and nodded at Don who came forward quickly.  
  
"What the..." she whispered.  
  
"It's ok, you're safe now." Leo said, steering her away from Saki.  
  
It all happened so fast, April and Shredder hardly had time to react. Sensing something was happening, but still doing an admirable job at looking drugged, Saki began to turn, but was met with a hard blow to the head from Don's bo.  
  
April gasped as he fell hard to the floor with a grunt. Everything was silent for a moment as he lay limply on the ground, a trickle of blood winding from his mouth onto the floor.   
  
"Saki!" April gasped, and found herself trying to get to him.   
  
Leo held her back. "April, what are doing?" He pulled her back to face him and was shocked to see tears welling up in her eyes.  
  
"Oh, Leo," she said miserably. "You don't understand...I made an oath that we'd get him out...you can't do this...this isn't like you..."  
  
"An oath?" Leo whispered fiercely. "What are you talking about? Look, I know you've had a rough time...but, he must have tricked you...we're going to give him to them and get out of here...good riddance"  
  
"No..." April said, angrily trying to twist away from him. "We can't leave him. They'll kill him..." Leo held her fast and was amazed to see the misery on her face. It was like he didn't know her.  
  
The Queen sighed. "If you are done with your little drama. I understand, little female, it is hard to let go of something so beautiful, but he is ours now. I would like you tawdi to present the Paelo to the Priestess. And please, try not to hurt him any more." The Priestess and some of her cohorts stepped forward as Don and Mike stepped up to the fallen Shredder, one on either side. April watched frantically. "Don, Mike don't do this."  
  
Hearing April's words, Don and Mike glanced at each other confusedly, but continued to pick up Shredder, grasping each of his arms and dragging him off the floor.  
  
Suddenly, with a cry of rage, Shredder straightened and did a lightning spin kick, knocking Don and Mike away savagely. He reached into his garment, extracted the two golden arrows, spun them expertly and gazed around at the shocked crowd. "Now, who would like to dance?"  
  
There were screams of terror as the crowd backed away from Saki. The Queen stood in fury. "He is not drugged! It is blasphemy not to drug a Paelo! You have tried to deceive us! The deal is off, you will all be my prisoners! Guards!"  
  
The crowd backed away as a regiment of guards encircled the turtles, April, and Shredder.  
  
"April," Leo said, falling into fighting stance and raising his katanas. "Why didn't you drug him?"  
  
"Yeah, Chicka?" Mike said, whirling his nun-chucks. "I get it, you just wanted to make things more interesting."  
  
"What the hell," Raph said, placing his sais in defensive posture. "I like things interesting. And, I wasn't about to leave this place without taking on these chicks."  
  
"Attack!" cried Ancha, and a hail of arrows flew upon them. But this time the turtles were ready, and easily batted each of them away. April was relieved to see Saki do the same, twirling with the arrows in each hand.  
  
"Come on, you can do better than that!" Raph said.  
  
"Potion arrows! Now!" Ancha cried, stringing her own bow, and glaring at April for her betrayal.  
  
The needle-like arrows flew through the air, and being smaller, they were more difficult to defend, but the result was the same, and after the barrage each little needle clattered to the ground.  
  
"We're still waiting for something better," Don said, twirling one of the little darts in his hand.  
  
"Attack!" cried Ancha, drawing a long sword. All the warriors did the same, and in a moment, a melee ensued, all of the turtles and Shredder engaged, with April standing in the middle. The warrior's skills were good, but no match for ninja. In just a few minutes, the tide of battle had turned, and the turtles, Shredder and April were making their way for the exit as they fought.  
  
"Hey, this is cake," Mike said, batting away two warrior with one twirl of his chucks. "Why didn't we do this before?"  
  
"Do not worry about the tawdi!" shrieked the Queen, walking down the steps. "Do not let the Paelo escape!!"  
  
The warriors redoubled their attack on Saki, who was fighting fiercely, taking on two, three, five at once. He spun and kicked two, snatching their swords, and spun to face three more, which he met with double blows, forcing them back. He was holding his own, but the sheer numbers against him stifled his advance. April realized they were separating him from them.   
  
The lightening of aggression against the turtles allowed them to get all the way to the door. "Come on, April!" Raph cried, dragging her by the arm.  
  
"No kidding, chicka," Mike said, pulling the massive doors open. "Let's blow this Popsicle stand."  
  
April was struggling with Raphael, watching as Shredder began to succumb to the ten warriors attacking him at once. "We can't leave him," she cried. "Don't you realize I made an oath? You can easily get him out of here..."  
  
"It's not worth it," Don said, slipping through the door after Leo. "Let's go!"  
  
April turned to see Shredder push back two women with one swing of the sword, but not turn quick enough to stop a sword swinging at him. He cried out as it hit his arm, digging in deeply with a splash of blood. The warriors who had been hanging back now saw their chance and darted in, dealing blow after blow and forcing him to the floor. A final blow to the back of the head sent him skidding to April and Raph's feet in a daze.  
  
"Come on," Raph said, kicking Shredder away. He began to drag her through the door, but they snapped shut suddenly. "Shit!"  
  
Outside the door, Leo, Mike and Don were banging on the massive wall now between them and their friends. "Shit!" Leo said. "What happened?"  
  
"They're on hydraulics," Don said, panting. "Someone closed them. We can't get them open." They spun to see a legion of guards, all bearing golden bows and looking royally pissed off running down the corridor. "Shit! We've got to go! We can regroup....come back."  
  
"NO!" cried Leo, kicking the doors. "I won't leave April and Raph!"  
  
"Shit," cried Mike, spinning to face the on-coming warriors, and not liking the odds.  
  
Don grasped Leo's arm, and pulled his brother eye to eye. "Raph will take care of her, there's nothing we can do. Too many of them....we can't win today...come on..."  
  
Don saw reason work its way into Leo's enraged eyes. "You're right. Dammit! Ok, let's go," he said firmly, and the three brothers escaped down a side corridor.  
  
Inside the audience chamber, Raph was desperately fending off blows from an overwhelming force of warriors. April watched helplessly as he was knocked out by the blunt edge of a sword. Then, a strange pain arched through her body, and she fell to the ground hard. Gasping, she looked down at her leg. A lithe, long arrow pierced her thigh, just where it met her torso. She cried out as she saw that it went all the way through. In a daze, she looked up to see Ancha lowering her bow, glaring down savagely at her. "You should not have betrayed us. Or your friends." she hissed.  
  
April's vision was going cloudy, and her head lolled to the side. Dimly, through a haze of pain, she could make out Saki's bloody face just inches from her, where he laid on the floor. His eyes were open, gazing blankly at her, but as she watched, they fluttered and closed. April closed her eyes, succumbing to the shock flowing over her. "I'm sorry," she murmured. "I'm so sorry..."  
  
To Be Continued.....!!!!!!!!!!!!!   
  
Author's Note: Thanks for hanging in there so long. Whew! That was a difficult chapter to write, but I hope it came out ok. I love reading reviews, so please tell me what you think. I hope the next chapter won't take as long, but as you see, things have just gotten very complicated... 


	11. Dirty

Chapter 11  
  
"What the hell happened back there?" Leo said angrily, kicking rocks into the blue rush of the stream.  
  
"Er...a reverse rescue?" offered Mike, "you know...where the rescuer gets captured and the captured ones get away?"  
  
"Jesus, Mike," Don said, panting. "How can you joke about this?"   
  
Mike stopped walking and looked at the sandy bank, dipping one bulbous green toe into the water. The turtles had jogged all night to get away from the Palace. For a good hour they could hear the crash of legions through the brush after them, the wild calls back and forth between the warriors, the occasional thunk of an arrow into a tree trunk around them as they made their way through the thick growth. Slowly, the sounds died away until they blended with the many night sounds of this strange planet. Eventually, the strange calls became those of birds and the sounds of feet became indistinguishable from the whoosh of wind through the great jungle canopy overhead. They traveled on for hours, not trusting to slow down until they had put many miles between themselves and the Palace. But the thought that haunted them all was that was that those miles now separated them from April and Raphael.  
  
Now it was early morning, and the purpling sky filtered through a gorgeous, thick mist that rose up from the stream like an exhalation. They had followed the stream for the past hour silently, but now it seemed as if the nervous energy had worn itself thin and they would have to confront what had happened the night before.  
  
Mike continued to stare into the water and said nothing. Don walked up next to him. "I'm sorry Mike...I know you're upset...we all are."  
  
Leo stood on the other side of his brother, flexing his fists in frustration. "Of course we're upset. Like I said, what happened? How did we get separated from Raph and April, and...why was she acting so...so weird?"  
  
There was an uncomfortable silence. Don began slowly, "Well, she really seemed bent on saving Shred-head..."  
  
"What did that asshole do to her?" cried Leo. "Brainwash her? Threaten her? April's always hated Shredder more than us! She never understood why we didn't just kill him!"  
  
"But she did understand, eventually," Don reminded Leo. "From talking with Splinter over the years, she understood that to murder was to become him, become evil...he had to be defeated in other ways. Hell, Leo! You were always the one staying Raph's hand, you were always the one reminding him of that."  
  
There was another long silence. Mike finally glanced warily at Leo, "I heard her say something about an oath..."  
  
"I don't know what she was talking about!" snapped Leo. He turned and walked away, muttering. "Making an oath with Shredder..."  
  
Don and Mike glanced at each other, and then Don decided to get to the core of the issue. "Leo...maybe she was right. A lot has happened since we've come here...Shred-head was pretty badly injured, and you made sure we patched him up and dragged him along with us. You kept insisting it was the right thing to do. Which it was. I mean, Master Splinter taught us to protect life, all life, including one as worthless as Saki's. But after we got to the Palace...I don't know...we kind of forgot that. Maybe April was right. Maybe it was the wrong thing to do, to agree to give him over to that awful woman..."  
  
Leo spun on his heels, his eyes flashing. "Why should we save him!? Why should we risk one ounce of our blood on that worthless piece of crap? How many times has he hurt us? How many times has he hurt our friends? He'll just keep doing it, too! We can't stop him unless he's dead!"  
  
"Dude," Mike said. "But that's so not the point. If Master Splinter was here..."  
  
Leo gripped his sword and stormed up to his brother, knocking the blade into the sand. "Don't tell me what Master Splinter would do! Maybe he was wrong...just about this...this one thing."  
  
Mike and Don glanced each other again, and Don spoke, "Look, brother, I know we're in some whacked out dimension with some really whacked out rules, and we all want to just go home...but, that doesn't mean we give up our values."  
  
"Ditto," said Mike firmly, drawing his shoulders up firmly.  
  
Leo's eyes bulged as he looked from face to face, the rage shaking his body. And then, as if the very breeze whisked his anger away, his shoulders sagged, and he lowered his eyes, covering them with a shaking hand. "God...I...I know you're right....I just...I hate him so much. I thought we could just get rid of him. It wouldn't have been our fault...it just seemed easy...but," he sighed, looking up and straightening his shoulders. "Easy is not always right...as Master Splinter has said so many times...man, what have I done?"  
  
"You?" Don said, smirking. "Don't take all the credit! I want full participation in our plot to get rid of can-head, darn it!"  
  
"No doubt, dude," Mike said, laughing. "For one brief moment, we almost had the freakazoid wrapped."  
  
Leo smiled weakly, appreciating his brother's support, but still feeling deep inside that he had let his anger and pain compromise his reasoning.   
  
"All of this still doesn't explain April," Don said firmly.  
  
"Dude! What was that!?" Mike chimed in, frowning. "I mean...she was CRYING...over Shredder!"  
  
Somehow this topic was even more complicated than the last, and Mike's comment hung uncomfortably in the air. Each of them mulled over April's seemingly over-emotional outburst, and quietly tried to put away all the unthinkable thoughts that accompanied them.  
  
"I guess we'll just have to leave that on the shelf for the moment," Leo said, crossing his arms, regaining his composure and feeling that it was time to get down to business. "What's at hand is getting back to the Palace...and getting them out...ALL out, if it is possible."  
  
"I'm with you there," Mike said. "We'll do our best. We'll grab Raph and April, and, if it's possible, Shredder too. But, I don't think even Master Splinter would say we have to risk all our necks to get him out special."  
  
Don nodded. "Besides...er, I'm not even sure those women will care about us anymore. I mean...they have what they want...Shredder...a man."  
  
Suddenly, there was a rustling of the brushes that surrounded the sandy bank, and several figures emerged in the early morning gloom. The turtles immediately leapt into defensive stance, raising their weapons. The figures were difficult to make out in the mist, tall and slim and wearing silky shifts similar to those worn by Ancha and her troop of women. Yet, they did not have weapons. One of them spoke in a soft voice, "So...it is true. The Queen has acquired herself a man...things will now go badly with us."  
  
As the figure spoke, it came forward. Leo squinted as the figure approached, and at first she seemed to be like any other of the shapely, tall women they had encountered in this strange place. She wore a long, white dress and her long, brown hair was tied back with a leather string. Her eyes were small, dark brown, and there was something slightly off about the shape of the face...the angle of the cheek bones...  
  
When the figure stood just inches from Leonardo, suddenly the irregularities made an impossible kind of sense. Leo gasped, "You're a man!"  
  
"Holy shit!" Mike said, lowering his chucks.  
  
"Yes..." said the stranger, in that same, soft, high voice. "I am a man...of sorts." There were twitters and giggles from the group behind him, still obscured in the mist. "I am a eunuch."  
  
Mike blinked. "What's a eunuch?"  
  
"Trust me," Don said, lowering his bo with fascination. "You do NOT want to know."  
  
More giggles followed from the group and they slowly came up behind their leader. He spoke again, smiling slightly, the expression softening his face, making it more girlish and indescribably strange. "I am Maya...I could not help but overhear...we were following, and listening...we mean you no harm. But you must come with us. If it is true that the Queen has captured a man, then our cause will be lost if he we do not act soon...the battle will be upon us. Come," he reached out his hand and grasped Leo's softly, causing him to flinch. Maya smiled, "Do not fear...there is someone you must speak to...we do not have much time."  
  
********************************************  
  
April slowly came out of a swimming darkness and found herself staring at a marble ceiling far above her head. At first, she didn't think at all and enjoyed the sense of peace that flooded her, sensing she had not felt so in a long time. But then a dull, persistent ache arched from her hip into her body and the memories came crashing back. The Palace. The battle. The arrow through her leg. Saki, bloodied and unconscious. And Raphael...  
  
She sat up with a gasp and cried out as pain lanced outward from where her thigh met her hip, and she fell back to the bed. Suddenly, Raphael's concerned face loomed over her, and she felt him grasping her hand. "April...oh God...April, are you ok?"  
  
April was panting, sweat beading on her forehead. "Yeah, Raph...I'm ok...are you? Oh my God, the guys! Did they get away? Where are we?"  
  
Raphael smiled, sitting on the edge of the bed and grasping her hand hard. "Yeah I'm fine. And the guys got away just fine. Not a bad rescue, April...only 1/4 a failure! We're in the Palace," he looked around anxiously. She could see they were back in the ornate chambers where they had stayed when they first arrived. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a guard standing at the door. He leaned in and whispered. "They've been treating us kind of nice...giving me food. They gave you a potion, I didn't want them to, but they insisted it would make you better...they wrapped your leg..."  
  
April lifted the bedclothes and saw that her thigh had been wrapped with heavy bandages. She tried to shift her leg despite the pain and was alarmed to realize she couldn't move it, or even feel it. She gasped, "Raph! I can't feel my leg..."  
  
He looked intently at her and sighed. "I know...they said the arrow severed some major nerves, muscles...even arteries...they said it might as well have been cut off..."  
  
"What?" April gasped. "You mean I'll never walk..."  
  
"Shhh," Raph hushed, trying his best to comfort her, and knowing he was messing it up majorly. "They also said they could help you...but I don't know how...listen, April. I don't know why they've been so nice to us. They've almost been...friendly."  
  
"Isn't it obvious?" April sighed. "They got what they wanted. You gave them Shredder."  
  
Raphael blinked, and tried to put on a half-amused face, tried to suppress all the questions he wanted to ask her about her behavior the night before. "Gee, if that's all it took to turn them into pussy cats, we should've done that first thing..."  
  
"How can you say that?!" April hissed. "Do you know what they wanted to do to him? What they're probably DOING to him right now? They're going to suck out his life force or something and kill him! How could we have let this happen?!"  
  
Raph frowned at the outburst. She must still be under the influence of the potion, he told himself. He smiled weakly again, stroking her hair. "Come on April," he said gently. "You can't tell me you care that much about old can-head? What did he do? Put the moves on you?"  
  
April tried to keep a straight face when Raph said this, but found herself blushing uncontrollably. Raph froze as he stared down at her, his eyes widening, his heart thudding in his ears. "Did he?" he breathed in almost a whisper.  
  
They both didn't move, each staring wildly into each other's eyes. Raph slowly disentangled his hand from hers, and started to back away, shaking his head, when the door burst open.  
  
"Ah! She's awake! And probably not feeling very well, poor thing!" In swept the Priestess, beaming like it was her birthday. She approached the bed, and glanced down at April. "You look so down! No need for that! We'll get you fixed up in no time!"  
  
April tore her eyes away from Raphael and looked up at the Priestess, who was glowing. In fact, she looked radiant...and younger. While she was beautiful before, in a very stately, almost matronly way, she now seemed a vibrant young woman, pulsing with energy, flushed with health.  
  
"I see you've been sampling the wares," April said sourly.  
  
"Oh, everyone should," the Priestess clapped her hands together hard, almost jumping with nervous energy. She glanced up at Raphael. "Why so glum? I know you've liked the food, you've been gobbling it down. Do not fear, I'm sure your friends will come around soon...and we will let you all go." She gazed down at April, smiling. "You see, the Queen, now fitfully satisfied with the gorgeous Paelo, has had a change of heart. We all have! I mean, once we tasted his exquisiteness...we understood completely how you must be nearly mad with lust over him..."  
  
April's eyes widened and she glanced warily at Raph. "Um...I wouldn't say that..."  
  
"...of course you are! That body! Those eyes! It is enough to drive any sane woman mad with pleasure! We understand your irrational behavior last night...and we forgive you. After all. Who could resist?"  
  
Raph coughed a sour laugh. "All right, broad. We get it. But you got what you want. Why not just let us go now?"  
  
"Oh..." said the Priestess, smiling. "We still cannot trust this one. I think it will take all four of your brothers to restrain her from chasing after the Paelo with passion. We will wait until they arrive. And besides..." she turned her eyes back to April. "You do wish to be healed, do you not? You would like to walk again?"  
  
April found herself sitting up, despite the pain. "You would do that? Can do that?"  
  
"Of course," the cleric smiled. "There is nothing the Paelo's kiss cannot heal."  
  
April frowned, laying back down on the bed. "No. I won't hurt him..."  
  
"Oh...don't be absurd. He has much energy. He will be healing and rejuvenating our nobility for weeks...the common people, of course, think he only holds congress with the Queen, but you will be gone soon and not reveal our secrets." She winked, then continued. "The Queen has offered you this chance to heal...and see him a last time. I would not turn down her mood of good will. After all, you do want one more kiss, eh?"  
  
"Yeah," Raph said sarcastically. "Nothing you haven't done before, right?"  
  
April shot Raphael an evil look. "But...I thought only the women of this planet can do this...take energy from men. Trust me, I've never gotten younger from kissing anybody."  
  
"It's a potion, young one," The Priestess lowered her voice. "We developed it millennia ago. Like so many things else on this world, our ingenuity has been our strength. The Queen has decided to give you a drop so you will be healed. Now, don't fight it. You will enjoy the experience immensely."  
  
She clapped her hands and several guards walked into the room, carefully lifting April from the bed. "I don't know..." April began, but had to admit to herself she wanted to see him, make sure he wasn't being tortured or anything.  
  
She tried to look at Raphael as they carried her from the room, but he had turned his back on her. Deep inside, she didn't blame him.  
  
*****************************************************  
  
April was in a the same bedroom chamber where she spent her torturous first night with Saki. She recognized the French windows and the rich, marble floor. But several gauzy screens had been erected around the bed, and in other places in the room. Several aristocratic women milled around giggling with linked arms, as a quartet played soft music in the corner on strange, stringed instruments. All the woman had the same dynamic, youthful glow that now pervaded the Priestess. It made April feel sick inside.  
  
"Where is he?" April whispered, where she lay on a couch. A young woman brought her a glass of wine on a tray, which she accepted.  
  
"He is with a noble woman just now," the Priestess nodded toward the screened bed. "That is the potion....drink it...it is delicious."  
  
April sipped the liquid and was shocked by the almost orgasmic wave of pleasure that flooded through her abdomen. Then she blushed even deeper when she realized that through the soft sound of music she could hear faint groans of pleasure, both male and female, coming from behind the screen. I can't believe this, she thought to herself, but she could almost feel the nip of jealousy rise in her gullet. While the woman was clearly enjoying herself, the male sounds were more pained, urgent, almost agonized. She gulped down the wine quickly.  
  
Finally, a blushing, flushed woman emerged from the screened in bed. She was greeted by a group of young women who swept her away, giggling.  
  
"It is time," said the Priestess.   
  
The guards carried April through the gauze and she gasped at what she saw. It was almost the exact scene from that night that seemed so long ago. Saki lay on his back, almost nude, a sheet again splayed carelessly over his middle. He was bound by golden hand cuffs. But he looked so different....it wasn't that he looked drained, or used. Instead, he was flushed, slick with sweat, fevered almost, as if he were trembling from exertion. His eyes were closed as he reclined against the pillow. He seemed hyper-tensive, strung up, she could almost hear his heart racing...like it was going to burst.  
  
"Oh...Saki..." she said sadly, tears welling her eyes.  
  
She heard a whisper in her ear. "Now, do not be greedy. You only get a kiss. We will give you a few moments alone...the potion will tell you what to do."  
  
She was set gently down next to Saki and the Priestess and guards disappeared through the curtain.  
  
April lay for a moment, looking at him. His face lolled toward hers, and she could see the sweat coating his brow, drenching his hair. His eyes fluttered, and opened. The dark eyes quivered in their sockets, and moved vacantly across the gauze, then drifted toward her face.  
  
"Miss O'Neil..." he whispered, his trembling voice barely audible. "...they...I don't..." he breathed in, laboring to speak. "...it hurts so badly...I wish I could die..."  
  
Her hand shot to his face and she felt the tears come. "Oh, Saki! I'm so sorry! Forgive me...I didn't know...the turtles..."  
  
His eyes locked with hers, but she could tell he was so potioned, he was barely sensible. "...hurts..." he breathed. April dropped her hand and looked at him, not knowing what to feel. Deep down she knew it wasn't her fault. In fact, she began to feel ambivalent about the whole situation...why would the turtles want to save him? She must have appeared so absurd to them, with her crying...and now Raph...he knew something was up...how would she explain?  
  
But still...she looked into his eyes and couldn't help but feel sympathy, and something else, deep down in her stomach. He looked so helpless, so pleading, so virile all at once...she found herself drawing closer to his face. She could hear his quick breathing, almost smell his breath...and then...the warmth from the potion, from the heat of her gut, flooded through her, and she felt herself grasping his face uncontrollably, pulling him close almost by instinct, and her lips met his...  
  
She could his feel his body tense and heard him moan in pain beneath her lips, but she couldn't stop. She knew she was hurting him, taking a little of his life, draining him for her own benefit, but she still couldn't stop, the pleasure was unbelievable, blossoming in her chest, lancing through her lips, racing through her body and settling in a building bud of supreme tension where her thigh was injured...it grew and grew, pulsing through her body until she shuddered, her body convulsing in pleasure...and she pushed him away, panting and feeling incredible...a little dirty....but strong...  
  
********************************************  
  
The turtles stood in a dark cavern, deep beneath the earth. They had followed the group of eunuchs through the woods to the foot of the dark mountains, and to a massive crevice that rent the sheer rock base of the mountain. They barely spoke, too shocked by this band of strange, thin, fragile men. They did not fear an attack, the men were unarmed, and so willowy, they seemed as if they could be broken easily. They were much weaker than Ancha and her women.  
  
They were led deep into the mountain, joined by more and more eunuchs carrying torches and giggling and gasping at the sight of the turtles. Finally, they came to a massive door, deep within the ground.  
  
"Inside," said Maya, smiling shyly, and pushing the door open.  
  
Inside was a roughly hewn chamber, though large enough. Hundreds of torches hung from the walls and huge fire burned in the chamber. It was so bright, the turtles had to blink to adjust to the orangeish glow.  
  
Yet, inside there was something even stranger. From the far side of the fire, they could make out another group of figures, though they were hard to see. What was strange was the murmuring that occasioned their entrance. This was different, deep, rumbling....masculine.  
  
"So!" A decidedly gruff voice called out from a throne across the fire. "We have heard the news! Come forward, Maya! Tell us what you know!"  
  
Maya rushed daintily around the fire and conferred with the figure sitting in a throne. The turtles came around the fire and gasped at what they saw.  
  
A large man with a bushy brown beard and pale skin sat on the throne. He wore an animal skin pelt across his chest, and though he was so pale that he looked like he had never seen the light of day, he was thickly muscled and brutish. Several other strong looking men, all bearing swords, glared at the turtles from where they gathered around the throne.  
  
"Turtles," Leo said. "Be alert!"  
  
They raised their weapons. The man chuckled roughly. "Do not worry!" his voice boomed across the chamber. "You have nothing to fear from us! Perhaps we will become allies! For, Maya has just told us that the old hag, the Queen, has gotten herself a man."  
  
The man rose from the throne, glaring down at the turtles. "We are not quite ready...but this development changes things. Men! We cannot wait for the right time...fate has cast his die, and it is time to act! We cannot allow them to get young and strong again! The War against the women must begin tonight!"  
  
A cheer went up in the chamber as the turtles lowered their weapons. They glanced wearily at one another, sensing they had just gotten swept up into something bigger than they could imagine.  
  
****************************************************  
  
  
  
Raphael sat in the chamber, trying to suppress his rage, trying not to hate April, because he loved her so much. She must be confused, he told himself. That bastard probably hurt her, or worse. He can be a smoothie...and April's so darn nice...she probably didn't even know what was really going on. He would talk to her...find out what happened...help her through this...this awful mistake...  
  
Suddenly, the door banged open and he was shocked to see April stride into the room.  
  
"April, you can walk! You're ok..." he trailed off as he saw her face, and he could feel the blood run from his cheeks.  
  
"Yes," she murmured, looking at him. "I look different, don't I?" She walked over to a mirror and found it difficult not to flinch when she saw herself. "Like looking back in time..."  
  
The kiss had healed her leg. It had also done something else. Looking into the mirror...was seeing the woman she was ten years ago, in her early 20s, not a line on her face, barely a freckle, skin smooth and milky. "Strange..." she murmured, as Raphael came up behind her, trying to believe what he saw. "It's every woman's dream to have ten years taken off her looks...have ten years back on her life...but...so strange that I miss that face that was mine...like something is gone that I can't get back...like I've lost something, the face I earned...."  
  
"You look beautiful..." Raphael breathed, gazing over her shoulder into the mirror.  
  
"Yes," April sighed, looking into her flushed, though alien face. "But I feel dirty."  
  
To Be Continued...............!!!!!!!!  
  
**************************************  
  
Author's Note: You likey? Me likey. Such a fun chapter to write...the characters just sort of did what they wanted. I'd love to hear what you think...any little thing you liked or didn't, anything it made you feel...gee, this is turning into a regular novel. Hope you enjoy this new direction our friends have taken, for better or worse...but my poor little Shredder! 


	12. War

Chapter 12  
  
The drums of war sounded deep in the mountain and spilled out into the jungle night like the crash of some great machine, silencing the insects and sending flocks of birds spiraling off into the darkness with inhuman screams.  
  
"Our numbers and very existence will be surprise enough. Do not be afraid to beat the drums!" The King of the Men, Loma, stood before his army at the mouth of the great mountain fortress, surveying his troops bearing torches like so many fireflies in the dark. "Do not be afraid to yell like the men you are! Tonight the women will cower before us and the old Queen will be killed! Tonight we take back our world!"  
  
The men, thousands of them, cried out with a roar and started off through the brush, crashing through trees and clearing a swath through the jungle.  
  
Amidst the surge of well-muscled, angry men walked three befuddled turtles.  
  
"This is taking the battle of the sexes, like, way too far," said Michelangelo, surveying the wash of manhood around him with distaste.  
  
"It's incredible! But where did they come from? There must have been thousands of them hiding in that mountain! How did they do it?" Leonardo said, blinking.  
  
"I've got my suspicions," Donatello said darkly. To this whisper, the turtles heard a strange giggle weave through the night and they looked to see Maya, and his waify gaggle of eunuchs walking along beside them. Unlike the brutishly garbed warriors, the eunuchs still wore white flowing shifts delicately weaving around their bodies, their faces veiled my gauze. In the darkness, they were indistinguishable from women.  
  
"Hello, Maya," Don ventured, gesturing him closer.  
  
"I heard you speaking," he said in his strange, sing-songy voice. "I wonder what you may think of all of this."  
  
"We're not sure what to think," Leo said. "We are no friends of the women, but as warriors of honor, we do disapprove of surprise attacks of this magnitude. Don't worry, we won't interfere...but, we can't help but wonder, where did all these men come from? We were told the men died out long ago...if there was no women..."  
  
"I have a feeling they have a few stowed away..." Don said, looking at Maya very carefully.  
  
Maya blushed beneath his veil, and giggled softly. "The cute, purple one is most correct." He fell into step beside the turtles and lowered his veil a little. "And in the end, these men would never have survived without us eunuchs, though now, I wonder what will become of us."  
  
"But," Mike said, confused. "How could these dudes stay alive? Any man on this planet would have been captured and sucked dry if he'd been caught."  
  
"Exactly," Maya said. "And that is why we were created. The men needed someone who could move among the women, learn their ways, go into the margins of their villages, examine their defenses...and, ah, collect things that were needed."  
  
"Like food?" Mike asked.  
  
"Like women," Don said grimly.  
  
Leo and Mike looked aghast.  
  
"Yes," Maya sighed. "We brought all they needed. Food sometimes, raw materials, and what women we could capture."  
  
"I don't think they would have gone willingly!" Leo said.  
  
"No...they were taken for one purpose alone. To bear boys. They are impregnated again and again, the sons join us, the girls, ah, are put to the same uses....what few survive, live deep in the mountain never to see the light of day. "  
  
"That's disgusting! That's slavery!" Leo said. "You ARE just as bad as the women! How could the same people become so divided? How could you both be so horrible?"  
  
Maya glanced darkly at Leo. "For as long as our history has recorder, the men and women have been great enemies. Millennia ago the men ruled with an iron fist, the women were our toys, as they should be. Then they revolted, learned their accursed potions and their clever witchery. In their lust for immortality they almost enslaved us all. A few escaped to the mountains, and since that time, so long ago, we have waited and plotted. But we cannot live this way forever. And now the Queen has a new Life Source, we must act quickly before they are all rejuvenated."  
  
"But, this is madness!" Donatello said, shaking his head. "You shouldn't be killing each other, but loving each other, living with each other."  
  
Maya blinked. "Is such a thing possible? Men and women were made as opposites, and as such, their war is natural. Could it ever be different?"  
  
"Yes," Don said. "Where we come from, the men and women live together, in families. We have wars, but they are between nations, religions, ethnicities...but the men and women are always together. Don't get me wrong, for thousands of years, women were treated as second class, just because they were physically weaker...but today, they are completely equal."  
  
Maya frowned. "Impossible. We are too different. One is hard and one is soft. One is strong, the other weak...."  
  
"Geez," Mike shook his head. "You peeps have a lot of growing up to do."  
  
"So what's going to happen tonight? Are they going to slaughter them all?" Leo asked.  
  
"Some. Those in power; the Queen, her court, the warriors, the accursed Priestess. The others will again be subdued under our power, as nature intended. Most importantly, the Life Sources must be killed."  
  
"The whoozit?" asked Mike.  
  
"The Life Sources. Those men captured and drained by the women, the ones who give them immortality..."  
  
"Wait," Don said, confused. "I thought they were dead. I thought the women drained them until they died..."  
  
Maya laughed. "That would be better. No, for the women to sustain their youth, those men who have been drained must remain alive, if only barely. Deep in the Palace, beneath the earth, is a terrible place, where they are kept alive. Once they are dead, all of them, the women will wilt and turn to dust before our very eyes!"   
  
*************************************************************  
  
"Something's happening..." Raph said, listening. He stood at one of the great windows in his and April's chambers, trying to peer into the courtyard, but he could see very little in the dark.  
  
"Maybe it's the guys..." April suggested.  
  
Raph turned to look at her and reply, but like so many other times in the last day, his words got caught in her throat. She just looked so young, and so beautiful. April was a hot chick before, no doubt about it. But whatever happened with Shred-head, whatever she had taken from him, had smoothed her face, made her skin creamy again, brightened her eyes; she absolutely glowed.  
  
April saw his awe-filled stare and scowled. "Dammit Raph, stoppit!"  
  
Raphael grinned weakly. "Sorry, April. Geez, I just keep thinking...Shred-head was always good for nothing...but now he finally did something amazing!"  
  
April spun from where she was examining herself in the mirror again and bore down on Raph angrily. "Shit, Raph! Don't say that! I took a little life from Saki to heal my leg, not to get young! Jeez, no wonder the women on this planet went nuts and started sucking the life out of all the men to stay young! You men act as if it's the greatest thing in the world! Like women can't age, like we've got to stay young to be worth something! I'm the same April, same woman; I've just had some of my wear and tear erased, honest wear and tear. But if we women aren't allowed to live to stay attractive, then, then..." April stopped her speech and sat down on the bed, her eyes watering.  
  
Raph felt genuinely admonished. "Geez, April. I'm sorry. I've...I've never thought about it that way. I guess guys ARE assholes, aren't they?"  
  
April looked up through teary eyes and smiled weakly, but gasped suddenly.  
  
A huge explosion rocked the Palace. Light filled the window and a large crack zigzagged up the wall. Marble dust drifted to the ground around April and Raph as they dived to the floor. The guards at the door bolted from the room, locking the door behind them.  
  
"Is this the turtles?" April asked weakly, brushing marble dust off her.  
  
"No way!" Raph said, sitting up. "This isn't our style! They would have sneaked in, tried to cause the least damage possible. This place is under attack for real!"  
  
"But by who?"  
  
"It doesn't matter. April, the guards are gone. Look, there's some sort of ventilation duct over there in the floor, we can get into it, crawl out of here somehow." He bent over it, and lifted the grate, gesturing her in.  
  
"OK..," April said. "But...we've got to try to get Shredder out. I know where he is. I know what you think...but after I've taken...taken some of his life, I feel that we owe this to him."  
  
Raphael tried to suppress the rage that stirred in his stomach as April said this. He tried to suppress all the questions he wanted to ask her, all the wrath he felt that she would care at all about that worthless, evil, bastard. But...he quieted his wrath, seeing the determination in her eyes. "Fine," he said angrily. "But only because I know he'll try something, and when he does, April, this time I'm taking him out."  
  
April gazed at Raph, trying to find the right words to diffuse her friend's rage, to try to explain about the oath she had made, to explain about the strange intimacy that had tentatively, and inexplicably, been born between her and Saki. Instead, she just nodded, and disappeared into the duct, hoping that her womanly wiles could control both of the most passionate, angry men in her life. With luck, she could keep them from killing each other.  
  
*********************************************************  
  
Outside the Palace, the turtles watched with apprehension as the battle reached its peak. The outer walls of the fortress were easily breached, and men by the hundreds were pouring into the courtyards, swords drawn and crying out wildly. Screams of surprise and shock issued from the Palace. The tide of the battle had quickly turned, and the men were quickly turning it into a massacre.  
  
Leo shook his head sadly where they crouched in the brush. "This is a slaughter. Those women are amazing warriors, some of the best fighters I've ever seen. But, they could never have prepared for this. Imagine, being attacked by an enemy you never even knew existed! Most of the women have never even seen a man before!"  
  
"What are we going to do?" Mike asked in a small voice, feeling hopeless.  
  
"Well, top of the agenda is April and Raph. The men will leave him alone, but she could be caught up in all of this...She is, after all, a woman." Leo said.  
  
All of the turtles bristled with anger at the thought of April being cut down by one of these out of control men.  
  
"Right," Don said, twirling his bo. "What's the plan."  
  
"We go in and get them out. And...Shredder too, if we can."  
  
"Agreed." Don said quietly. Mike nodded too, and they all decided not say anymore on the topic.  
  
"But...Lord, so many horrible things are happening tonight and there is no way we can stop it all. But as warriors sworn to protect, we must do what we can. There are many innocents we can try to help...those men, the ones in the dungeon. We should try to protect them if we can." Leo said. The turtles mulled this over. In many ways, it was suicide, but they had to do what good they could in this horrible struggle.  
  
"And...those poor women...the ones still enslaved back at the mountain...they will be left unguarded during this war," Leo shook his head. "Mike, you've got to go back. You must try to release them. If we survive this, my brother, we shall meet at the place where the portal was supposed to be."  
  
Mike nodded, trying to strengthen his heart with the task before him.  
  
Leo was silent for a moment. Half of him just wanted to get Raph and April out and get the hell out of there, screw them all and this messed up planet...  
  
"Leo," Don said, sensing his brother's struggle. "This is the right thing to do. What can we do in such a horrible struggle? So much evil has been done here. There is so much blood on both sides, that no one can be seen as good and evil. But, if we are honest with ourselves, we know that even back on Earth, no side is ever truly good and no side is completely evil. History repaints things that way, but all people have committed awful acts to remain in power. In a world so marred by hatred, what can one person do? As honorable ninja, we must save those most victimized, those most helpless. You are making the right decision. Splinter would be proud."  
  
Leo looked steadily at his brother. "Thank you, Donatello. I think Splinter would be even more proud of you."  
  
Mike stood. "I'm ready. I'll see both of you soon. Good luck, dudes!" They all clasped hands briefly in the dark, then Mike disappeared.  
  
As the two turtles watched their brother disappear in the jungle, they each knew that it may be the last time they ever see him. Then they grasped their weapons and stealthily crept toward the Palace, even as cries of death and slaughter cut through the air. Sobbing and screaming could be heard, weaving like the very smoke in the air, as the awful fires of war danced across the jungle with demonic glee.  
  
********************************************************  
  
"I'm pretty sure he's right here," April whispered.  
  
Raph bit his lip and tried not to explode in anger. They had been crawling through the ventilation duct beneath the marble floors of the Palace for the better part of thirty minutes, listening to the sounds of battle rage above them. At one point, they had come to a grate filled with moonlight, a way out built into the high ramifications of the rear of the Palace. Through the slats of metal they could see the dark jungle beckoning with sanctuary. Raphael had desperately tried to convince April to escape right then and there, but she refused.  
  
Now they crouched beneath yet another grate. April peered upwards. She could see the intricately painted ceiling that was so familiar from her night with Saki. "This is it. I wouldn't forget that ceiling."  
  
"OK, April," Raph said, biting his lip. "But I'm telling you, if even lifts a finger against us, he's history."  
  
April gazed at Raphael, but said nothing.   
  
Slowly, Raphael lifted the grate and peeked his domed head through the hole. "There's still a guard at the door," he whispered. "I guess even with this attack, they could still spare one to guard their precious Shredder."   
  
Picking up a piece of debris that had fallen on the floor, he tossed it to the corner of the room. As the guard stepped over to investigate, he quickly hopped through the hole and came up behind her, knocking her out with a well-placed thump to the back of the head. Picking up her sword and bow, he came back over to April who stood by the hole staring toward the back of the room. He turned to see what she was looking at and saw an extraordinary sight.  
  
Raphael had rarely seen Shredder without his helmet or armor. A few times in battle they had managed to knock his helmet off, and then, his face twisted with rage, Saki always managed to look like a sadistic maniac, bared teeth, glinting eyes. Besides, the heat of battle never gave Raph a good chance to appraise his opponent.  
  
Well, the view offered right now was more of Oroku Saki than Raph ever wanted to see. He lay sprawled on a bed of white linen, all dark skin and muscles, shiny with oils. He appeared to be sleeping, and with his face relaxed, he seemed much younger than Raph had ever thought. Plus, he was absolutely nude.  
  
Raph glanced back at April and found her turned away from the unseemly figure on the bed. "Raph," she whispered. "Could you go cover him up or something?" She was blushing fiercely.  
  
"What," he said coolly. "I thought this was old hat for you by now."  
  
She turned to glare at him, her new youthful beauty hitting him like a slap. "What kind of person do you think I am?"  
  
"I don't know!" Raph said, all the anger he was suppressing finally surfacing. "I'm not sure who you are! As far as I know you've been banging old Shred-head here!"  
  
April took one step over to Raph and slapped him hard. "How dare you?"  
  
Raph took a step back, slightly abashed but still angry. "Sorry April...but what am I supposed to think? It almost sounds like you care about him more than, than us..."  
  
"Oh Raph," April actually smiled and walked to him. She reached up, but instead of slapping him, this time she laid her hands gently on his smooth, green cheeks. "Raph...I love you guys more than my own family. I think you know that. I've only been asking you guys...you...to be who you are back on Earth. The good guys. Ones who protect everyone one from evil...even Shredder."  
  
Her gaze was so gentle, and her words so familiar, that Raph immediately melted. "Geez April...ok, ok...let's see what we can do with old Can-head."  
  
As she turned away again, Raph headed over to the bed. He tried to avert his eyes as well. There was a little too much of his enemy on display, even for his tastes. He stood at the side of the bed, looking at Shredder's sleeping face. So many awful things this man had done, so many evil plots, so many ploys for power...but, in sleep, he looked completely innocent, even boyish, his dark hair swept over his forehead. There was something distasteful about seeing his arch enemy so helpless, so vulnerable. Raph stood a moment thinking, but the sounds of battle outside quickened him to action.  
  
Raph reached over to the sheets, and began to draw them over Saki's thighs, when the leg suddenly whipped out and caught him in a viscous side kick to the head.  
  
Raph went down, but jumped up quickly in fighting stance, "You sneaky mother f..." he cursed. He stopped when he saw that Saki was still chained to the bed and groggy, his eyes open but barely focusing. "Stay away from me..." he slurred.  
  
Raph sighed and lowered his arms.   
  
"What's going on?" April asked, still unwilling to turn around.  
  
"Sleeping Beauty has awakened," Raph muttered, approaching the bed. "It's ok. He's decent now."  
  
April turned and approached the bed. Saki sat up, rapidly gaining composure.   
  
"Looks like they haven't been able to give him any potion due to the attack," April observed.  
  
"Ya think?" Raph crossed his arms. "Your move, Princess."  
  
"Saki," April said, gently approaching the bed. "We're here to help you...to get you out."  
  
It was amazing how she could almost see the lucidity returning to Shredder's face, the grogginess slipping away, replaced by a cold kind of knowing, and with the knowing came a memory, a memory of what had happened in the Palace.  
  
Saki closed his eyes, shaking his head. "You all betrayed me...I...I gave my oath. But you horrid turtles betrayed me..."  
  
"It was a mistake," April soothed.  
  
Raph rolled his eyes. "Move it or loose it, Can-head. We're giving you five seconds to get it together or we're leaving your sorry ass to be chick-food."  
  
Shredder's eyes shot open, and the intensity of the glare betrayed his full awareness of what had happened. He sat up, straining his chiseled muscles against the golden chains, eyeing Raph with rage. "You! You gave me to that awful Queen! Always yabbering on about doing good! I came back as a matter of honor and you betray me!," He turned his gaze to April. "And you! You made me an oath! And then you come traipsing in with that disgusting Priestess to suck the life out of me..." His angry diatribe trailed off as he took in April's new, youthful face. His mouth opened with confusion as her beauty left him speechless. "Your face, Miss O'Neil..."  
  
April blushed fiercely and was about to sidestep the issue when she realized there was something different about Shredder himself. Barely noticeable, imbedded in the folds of his thick, black hair, was a streak of gray.  
  
Instinctively, under the now familiar curtain of his gaze, she reached out and brushed his hair where the gray marred the rich black. "I gave this to you," she whispered. "I stole this from you."  
  
Saki didn't move. He continued to gaze at her rejuvenated face with fascination. Finally, he spoke, "And I gave this to you." His eyes never wavered from her face. "It seems but a small trade to make."  
  
Raph was listening to this exchange with growing incredulity. "You've got to be joking!!!! April, you said I was being sexist when I said you look pretty! Holy shit! I think I'm going to puke! And I know I'm going to be sorry if we don't get out of here soon!" Another explosion rocked the Palace, and both Saki and April snapped to attention. "Look, Can-head, we're here to rescue...you don't want it? No problem! But if you want to go, you better be as good as a kitten."  
  
Saki looked down at himself and flushed slightly, becoming petulant. "I need clothes."  
  
Raph finally found a reason to smirk. "Sorry...we'll make a toga for you. Now, about these chains." Raph reluctantly grasped Saki's wrist and with both of them struggling together they snapped the chain. Saki got to his knees, and using both of his arms, he snapped the other free.  
  
April turned away again, as most of the bedding had slipped away from Saki's dark, muscled body. He knelt shakily on the bed and began arranging the sheet in a kind of crude toga. But, as he tried to climb out of the bed, he fell to the floor.  
  
Raphael rolled his eyes, but secretly April was pleased. If Saki was weak, he'd pose less of a threat, and Raph's innate instinct to help the helpless would come out.  
  
Shredder weakly pushed himself off the floor, his face twisting in anger. "Those accursed women with their accursed potions..."  
  
As he struggled, another loud explosion sounded outside the window, exploding the window and showering them with a splash of glass, slicing them with numerous tiny cuts.  
  
"Holy shit!" Raph said, losing his patience and reaching down to haul the swooning Saki to his feet. Saki angrily allowed himself to be pulled to his feet, but he still leaned heavily on Raphael. "We have got to get out of here now!" Raph ordered, dragging Shredder toward the vent.  
  
"I do not need your help...turtle," Shredder gasped as he was pulled to the hole.  
  
"Whatever, Chrome-dome," Raph said, smirking a little. Despite the strange circumstances, it seemed to please Raph a little to have Saki at his mercy, to actually be helping him. "Come along nicely," Raph said, helping the protesting Shredder into the hole.  
  
April watched them disappear before she followed. She breathed a sigh of relief. Deep down, despite his rage, Raph was as moral as the rest, and as long as Shredder was at a disadvantage and pouting, Raph would behave accordingly. All she could hope is that somehow what few males were left in this dimension would behave themselves until they got out of this Godforsaken world...  
  
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A/N:  
  
What do you think, folks? I read each review carefully, and consider everything good (and bad, you know who you are!) that everyone says. This story has spiraled out of control, but oh well. I can't help but pursue my feminist agenda. Cards on the table? I couldn't help but see a metaphor developing as I wrote. Instead of the ethnic, racial, and national problems we have today, I realized a basic animosity existed between the sexes on this planet. Just as sometimes today I wonder how one person can deal with all the awful things happening in our world, I wondered how the turtles would deal with a situation where there are no clear-cut goodies and baddies, a world much like our own. Plus, I had to deal with integrating April and Saki's bizarre relationship with the turtles. It will be rocky at best. In the next chapter, the war will come to a head...the story is unfolding before me, but as always, as I type away, the story does what it wants...hope you hang in there for the next exciting chapters. As always, I appreciate any little thought you have!   
  
Best Wishes, Arendt.   
  
P.S. if anyone can guess why I chose this pseudonym, I'd love to hear the theory! 


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